Ilaria Pretelli
Guest
Abteilung für Verhalten, Ökologie und Kultur des Menschen
Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
E-Mail:
ilaria_pretelli@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Research Interests
From my background in Evolutionary Biology, I developed a lively curiosity for ultimate causal questions. In particular, I am interested in the evolution of human traits concerning life history, sociality and behavior more in general.
My PhD project stems from the general theme of the evolution of human childhood and tries to address the problem looking at foraging behavior in human populations. Is the long time humans spend as children useful for their future fitness? When and how do they learn some of the information relevant to their successful development? Which is the relative contribution each individual gives to their own growth? I am looking for the answers to these and other questions by observing children foraging in the island of Pemba, offshore Tanzania.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
| 03/2018-present | PhD Candidate Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Dept. Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture Title: “Development of Children Foraging and Evolution of Human Childhood.” Supervisors: Prof. Richard McElreath, Anne Kandler and Monique Borgerhoff Mulder Project fieldwork in Pemba, Tanzania. |
| 10/2013-03/2016 | Master degree in Evolutionary Biology Università degli Studi di Padova Grade: 110/110 cum laude Thesis title: “The Flight of the Bumblebee: Size related differences in flight performances and adaptation to pesticide induced stress.” Supervisors: Prof. Maria Berica Rasotto and Prof. Richard J. Gill Project based at Imperial College London (February - November 2015). Classical style ecological study with a focus on sociality and on the effects of pesticide exposure. |
| 10/2010-09/2013 | Bachelor degree in Biology Università degli Studi di Padova Grade: 110/110 cum laude Thesis title: “Neoteny and Evolution of Life History in Homo sapiens: molecular and morphological evidences.” Supervisor: Prof. Telmo Pievani. Bibliographical research on the evolution of human life history based on data from comparative, molecular and archaeological studies. |
Other research activities
| 09/2017-03/2018 | Stipend contract Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Dept. Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture |
| 04/2016-05/2016 | Research assistantship Stazione Idrobiologica Umberto d’Ancona - Unipd Chioggia |
Publications
2024
Pretelli, I., Crittenden, A. N., Dounias, E., Friant, S., Koster, J., Kramer, K. L., Mangola, S. M., Saez, A. M., & Lew‐Levy, S. (2024). Child and adolescent foraging: New directions in evolutionary research. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 33(2): e22020. |
2023
Pretelli, I., Borgerhoff Mulder, M., Makame Khamis, B., & McElreath, R. (2023). Foraging efficiency and the importance of knowledge in Pemba, Tanzania: Implications for childhood evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290(2011): 20231505. |
Open Access2022
Lew-Levy, S., Reckin, R., Kissler, S. M., Pretelli, I., Boyette, A. H., Crittenden, A. N., Hagen, R. V., Haas, R., Kramer, K. L., Koster, J., O’Brien, M. J., Sonoda, K., Surovell, T. A., Stieglitz, J., Tucker, B., Lavi, N., Ellis-Davies, K., & Davis, H. E. (2022). Socioecology shapes child and adolescent time allocation in twelve hunter-gatherer and mixed-subsistence forager societies. Scientific Reports, 12: 8054. |
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Pretelli, I. (2022). Children foraging and the evolution of human life history. PhD Thesis, Universität, Leipzig. |
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Pretelli, I., Borgerhoff Mulder, M., & McElreath, R. (2022). Rates of ecological knowledge learning in Pemba, Tanzania: Implications for childhood evolution. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 4: e34. |
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Pretelli, I., Ringen, E., & Lew-Levy, S. (2022). Foraging complexity and the evolution of childhood. Science Advances, 8(41). |
2021
Caro, T., Hamad, H., Rashid, R. S., Kloiber, U., Morgan, V. M., Nokelainen, O., Caro, B., Pretelli, I., Cumberlidge, N., & Borgerhoff Mulder, M. (2021). A case study of the coconut crab Birgus latro on Zanzibar highlights global threats and conservation solutions. Oryx, 55(4), 556-563. |
2020
Broesch, T., Crittenden, A. N., Beheim, B. A., Blackwell, A. D., Bunce, J. A., Colleran, H., Hagel, K., Kline, M., McElreath, R., Nelson, R. G., Pisor, A. C., Prall, S., Pretelli, I., Purzycki, B., Quinn, E. A., Ross, C., Scelza, B., Starkweather, K. E., Stieglitz, J., & Borgerhoff Mulder, M. (2020). Navigating cross-cultural research: Methodological and ethical considerations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 287: 20201245. |
2019
Kenna, D., Cooley, H., Pretelli, I., Ramos Rodrigues, A., Gill, S. D., & Gill, R. J. (2019). Pesticide exposure affects flight dynamics and reduces flight endurance in bumblebees. Ecology and Evolution, 9(10), 5637-5650. |