Definition
The process of converting natural resources into fuel for bodily function and maintenance.
Introduction
What unites all of life that has ever existed is what Charles Darwin called in The Origin of Species (1859), The Struggle for Existence. Every organism experiences various pressures against their ability to survive and/or reproduce. The most basic fuel for all organisms is nutrition, which may be in the form of a single nutrient or an entire animal. Mammals, especially humans, require a large amount of energy in order to grow, survive, and reproduce. As diet and means of obtaining food evolved, early humans or hominids rose to the top of the food chain with their rapidly developing brain. Using an evolutionary psychological perspective, the higher functioning regions of the human brain can be traced back to its natural origins.
Biological Functions of Energy Consumption in Mammals
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Holler, R., Chason, M. (2018). Energy Consumption. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_356-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_356-1
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