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radiation, (c) cold, or (d) high altitude. Discuss specifically how this environmental stress
negatively impacts the survival of humans by disturbing homeostasis. (5 pts)
Cold environments can affect a person in a negative way and affect people’s survival because if a person does not have the specific requirements needed to survive these cold circumstances then the person can die from hypothermia giving the advantage to the people with a greater body mass.
2. Identify 4 ways in which humans have adapted to this stress, choosing one specific adaptation
from each of the different types of adaptations listed above (short term, facultative,
developmental and cultural). Include images of the adaptations. (5 pts each/ 20 pts total)
For the cold environments humans have adapted different ways to survive:
a) Clothing has played a big role for lean people to survive in the cold environments since it helps lean people be able to survive through the winter.
b) Shivering or shaking being an involuntary movement of the body and also being short term which tries to warm up the body.
c) Exercising is another form in which people are able to keep their body temperature warm by running, jogging, etc.
d) Some people are able to keep warm by having a great amount of body mass which helps make insulation for the cold environment.
3. What are the benefits of studying human variation from this perspective across environmental
clines? Can information from explorations like this be useful to help us in any way? Offer one
example of how this information can be used in a productive way. (5 pts)
The benefits of studying these variations are that we can learn why we seemed to have diversity in the way we look even though we are not different at all. The investigation on different environments can be useful to be able to help us adapt in different climate areas. One example can be the different seasons of the year winter, autumn, spring, summer
4. How would you use race to understand the variation of the adaptations you listed in #2? Explain why the study of environmental influences on adaptations is a better way to understand human variation than by the use of race. (10 pts)
It is really difficult to narrow down to a specific group of people because anyone can wear clothing to be warm; also people have great body mass even if they don’t need it like we have in the U.S. where obesity is growing exponentially. Exercising anyone can do it does not have to be a specific race and shivering that is a mechanism use by everyone when the body is cooling down. In my opinion these circumstances described by me would be really difficult to narrow people by a certain race. But by looking at environmental influences people are able to understand why people look the way they look as in why they have a great amount of body mass or why do they dress the way they do etc.
Can you offer more detail on the connection between hypothermia and disruptions to homeostasis? Also, these problems apply to all individuals in general, regardless of mass, though I understand the reference to body shape/size as it applies to long-term adaptations.
ReplyDeleteIt would have been helpful to identify which traits applied to which categories.
Clothing applies to the cultural adaptations.
Body mass applies to the long term adaptions. It isn't just an issue of mass, but organization of the mass, as per Bergmann & Allen's rules.
Good on the short term adaptations.
Exercising is not a facultative trait. Facultative traits are genetic traits that can be turned on and off as needed. An example of this type of trait is alternating vasoconstriction/vasodilation or an increase in body fat layers.
Good explanation on the benefits of the adaptive approach.
Yes, these traits apply across all races, meaning race can't explain the differences. This is also related to the origins of the concept of race. It is a social construct, not a biological one, meaning that it cannot be used to objectively understand biological traits.
I agree with you that it would be difficult to understand variation in adaptations via race and that looking at environmental factors would be much more enlightening. Race does not actually have anything to do with varying adaptations amongst humans, in fact the idea of race was created simply to make people feel better about themselves for using people who looked different than themselves for labor or anything else they wanted done. Race does not play a role in how people adapt to their environments, it is basically premise behind natural selection that creates the adaptations. The environment dictates certain adaptations be made if life is to survive.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with you that race is a cultural and not biological/physiological factor, that has no influence on the role of human adaptation. While there are racial theorists who believe that race somehow influences human survivability, scientists have been able to largely disprove that, as a variety of races and cultures survive in cold, hot, high altitude and other environments. I found it great how you described how some groups of people are not following the rules of evolution, that is to say that they are not living just to survive and adapt, but freely living outside the rules: i.e. how some people in the US and around the world are obese, despite being in environments that largely don't call for large body mass or retention of large body fat. That was an excellent point. So I would be curious to see how in the long-term current human eating patterns and behaviors influences (or not) human evolution. :-)
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