La importancia del tamaño en Biología: implicaciones del cambio de tamaño en el linaje humano.

Autori

  • Laura Rodríguez García Universidad de León. Dpto. de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Área de Antropología Física; Universidad de Burgos. Laboratorio de Evolución Humana https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5090-1582

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18002/ambioc.i23.9523

Parole chiave:

Cerebro, Crecimiento, Energía, Patrón de Historia Biológica, Tamaño

Abstract

El tamaño corporal es un rasgo biológico crucial que revela la estrategia adaptativa de una especie. Afecta tanto a los procesos fisiológicos (metabolismo, termorregulación, reproducción, etc.…) como a las relaciones ecológicas (depredador/presa, tamaño de nicho ecológico, etc.…). Su estimación es vital, especialmente en fósiles, para inferir parámetros como la densidad poblacional, la madurez sexual y la inversión parental, siendo el principal modulador del gasto energético total. Si tenemos en cuenta además la relación entre tamaño corporal y el tamaño cerebral, podemos conocer el grado de encefalización de la especie en estudio. Un ejemplo en el registro fósil humano muestra que los neandertales y los homininos de la Sima de los Huesos eran más pesados y bajos que los primeros humanos modernos, lo que implica un mayor requerimiento energético en ellos. Esta característica pudo dar a los humanos modernos una ventaja evolutiva clave frente a los neandertales en entornos con escasez de recursos debido a la Ultima Gran Glaciación. El uso de estas variables, tamaño corporal, tamaño encefálico, metabolismo  y gasto energético, permite acercarnos al estudio de la biología de una especie fósil e hipotetizar como eran y cuanta energía podían llegar a necesitar en su vida diaria.

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Pubblicato

2026-02-06

Come citare

Rodríguez García, L. (2026). La importancia del tamaño en Biología: implicaciones del cambio de tamaño en el linaje humano. Ambiociencias, (23), 73–87. https://doi.org/10.18002/ambioc.i23.9523

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Baúl de la ciencia