Evolution of water conservation in humans

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Date
2021
Authors
Pontzer, Herman
Brown, Mary H.
Wood, Brian M.
Raichlen, David A.
Mabulla, Audax Z. P.
Harris, Jacob A.
Dunsworth, Holly
Hare, Brian
Walker, Kara
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Current Biology ; 31 (2021), 8. - pp. 1804-1810.e5. - Cell Press; Elsevier. - ISSN 0960-9822. - eISSN 1879-0445
Abstract
To sustain life, humans and other terrestrial animals must maintain a tight balance of water gain and water loss each day.1-3 However, the evolution of human water balance physiology is poorly understood due to the absence of comparative measures from other hominoids. While humans drink daily to maintain water balance, rainforest-living great apes typically obtain adequate water from their food and can go days or weeks without drinking4-6. Here, we compare isotope-depletion measures of water turnover (L/d) in zoo- and rainforest-sanctuary-housed apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) with 5 diverse human populations, including a hunter-gatherer community in a semi-arid savannah. Across the entire sample, water turnover was strongly related to total energy expenditure (TEE, kcal/d), physical activity, climate (ambient temperature and humidity), and fat free mass. In analyses controlling for those factors, water turnover was 30% to 50% lower in humans than in other apes despite humans' greater sweating capacity. Water turnover in zoo and sanctuary apes was similar to estimated turnover in wild populations, as was the ratio of water intake to dietary energy intake (∼2.8 mL/kcal). However, zoo and sanctuary apes ingested a greater ratio of water to dry matter of food, which might contribute to digestive problems in captivity. Compared to apes, humans appear to target a lower ratio of water/energy intake (∼1.5 mL/kcal). Water stress due to changes in climate, diet, and behavior apparently led to previously unknown water conservation adaptations in hominin physiology.
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570 Biosciences, Biology
Keywords
water turnover, doubly labeled water, hydration, drinking, hominin evolution, hominoid evolution
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Cite This
ISO 690PONTZER, Herman, Mary H. BROWN, Brian M. WOOD, David A. RAICHLEN, Audax Z. P. MABULLA, Jacob A. HARRIS, Holly DUNSWORTH, Brian HARE, Kara WALKER, Shauhin ALAVI, 2021. Evolution of water conservation in humans. In: Current Biology. Cell Press; Elsevier. 31(8), pp. 1804-1810.e5. ISSN 0960-9822. eISSN 1879-0445. Available under: doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.045
BibTex
@article{Pontzer2021-04-26Evolu-53966,
  year={2021},
  doi={10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.045},
  title={Evolution of water conservation in humans},
  number={8},
  volume={31},
  issn={0960-9822},
  journal={Current Biology},
  pages={1804--1810.e5},
  author={Pontzer, Herman and Brown, Mary H. and Wood, Brian M. and Raichlen, David A. and Mabulla, Audax Z. P. and Harris, Jacob A. and Dunsworth, Holly and Hare, Brian and Walker, Kara and Alavi, Shauhin}
}
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