Human Variation & Race

Week 8

1. High Altitude is a major environmental stress for humans. It is stressful for two reasons. First, the extreme changes in climate from night to day; and second, the fact that the air pressure is decreased. This environmental stress negatively impacts the survival of humans because of the decreased air pressure. This means that it is difficult for us to take in oxygen which can result in hypoxia. Also, in sefsrious cases, pulmonary edema and cerebral edema can develop which can lead to death very quickly.

2. Short-term adaptation: Increase in breathing and heart rate. Pulse and blood pressure pump harder to get more oxygen.

Facultative adaptation: Acclimatization takes place. When this happens, more red blood cells and capillaries are produced to carry more oxygen. Then the lungs increase in size to facilitate the osmosis of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Developmental adaptations:

The primary solution of Indians from the high mountain valleys in Peru and Bolivia has been to produce more hemoglobin in their blood and to increase their lung expansion capability. Usually also there is increased blood flow near the skin surface. Also Tibetan villagers who live above 15,000 feet show to have 10 oxygen-processing genes not found in lowland populations.

Cultural Adaptations:

Mountain climbers use oxygen tanks to help for breathing in when in high altitudes. For permanent settlers, the control of fire, a tool kit, and protective complicated clothing are important cultural adaptations that take place.

3. The benefit of studying human variation across environmental clines is to better understand our world. Using this method we can understand the differences of people living in completely different settings, and why or how they live where they are. This is very helpful because we can be knowledgeable about these different stresses and what we can do to get protect ourselves against them. That is how this information is can be used in a productive way for us. To use the information gathered and better prepare if ever being faced with any of these stresses.

4. Using race to understand human variation of adaptations is not an accurate especially when compared to environmental influences. There are different races everywhere, especially in America. There is no way we can possibly use race to study human variation through race when the world is do diverse. Environmental influences involve different issues coming up that  call for humans in general(not specific races) to adapt. Observing how humans adapt based on those environmental influences is therefore a much more accurate form of studying human variation.

Language Post

Part 1:

This was difficult for me because i didn't know how to get across what I wanted to say without speaking. It's easy get a yes or no across, but it's hard to explain something without using words. It took a while for my partner to understand what I was trying to say but eventually she got it. 

My partner tried to make her questions as easy as possible. Basically she would explain things as much as she could, narrowing down everything enough so that i would not have to do much explaining. This made my job easier, but it was still difficult.

Obviously the speaking culture has the advantage of communicating complex ideas because they have the ability to use words or terms that those who cannot speak would not be able to use. They might be annoyed because the non-speaking culture may take a long time to communicate, or it may take more effort for the speaking culture to understand what the non-speakers are trying to say. Blind people may have difficulty speaking, and deaf people as well. Usually people who do not have any difficulty speaking will not get into too complex of conversations with these type of people. For blind people, usually its more about describing a lot to them since they cannot see. For deaf people, obviously talking will not work as they cannot hear you.

Part 2: 

Yes i was able to last the full 15 minutes while using only speech for communication. It was difficult only to keep the conversation going because my parter could not speak back to me, so i had to keep it flowing. The fact that i could not use hand gestures or signs did not really affect me. It just made me adjust the way i speak to a more descriptive form so that it was clear enough for my partner to understand me. It would be easier to use signs but not that much easier. Overall i did well with just speaking and making the conversation understandable.

She was not so affected because is good at understanding what i mean. She had trouble replying to me because she could not speak. It was difficult for me to understand what she was saying. 

This experiment proves that it is important to use signs in our language because it makes understanding what a person is saying so much easier. Hand gestures give emphasis and really help get a feeling across.

Yes there are people who have difficulty reading body language. Not everyone is aware of certain things that say what a person is saying or feeling. When people have the ability to read body language, it is good because they can better understand how a person feels or what they are trying to say. I cannot think of any conditions wh

Piltdown Man Assignment

Basically, the Piltdown hoax was about when the question of the common ancestor of humans and apes came about. In 1912, in Sussex, England, a man named Charles Dawson discovered an interesting bone piece of a skull. He stated that there were many similarities between the skulls of a human and an ape. Also found was a jaw bone with teeth that had the same similarities, between man and ape. He felt that this was a major discovery.

In 1953, however, further tests proved that this discovery was a hoax. First of all, the fact that there were critical components missing to the jaw bone that would automatically classify it as man or ape, made this discovery questionable. Also, after further tests that included fluorine absorption, it was discovered that there was filing done on the teeth to give an effect, and in fact there were only about 100 years old.

There are definitely examples of human faults at play in this situation. Dawson desired to be given the glory of this discovery. It was a very competitive challenge to make this discovery, and he wanted the prestige of being the founder. He was selfish with this and even though this Piltdown man was not real.

I do not believe it is possible to remove the "human" factor from science to reduce the chance of these errors, because as long as we have free will and control over the use of machines and scientific tools, there will always be the possibility of a man or woman being selfish and wanting glory for themselves. I would like to remove this human factor, because these types of discoveries are important to our future. I do not think it is possible, but yes i would like to remove this factor.

The lesson i take from this event is to never believe something as important as this event, without enough evidence. It seems obvious to not believe something without enough credibility, however now I am even more aware of the importance of the factor of evidence. 

Comparative Primate Assignment

Week 4 Assignment

Dentition

Lemurs

A.) Lemurs are found in Madagascar, an island in the Indian Ocean. It is the fourth largest island in the world. It has a tropical climate with a rainy season lasting from December until April, and a dry season from May to November. It's terrain is very diverse ranging from coastal beaches and lagoons, to mountains, rivers, grasslands, and desert. 

B.)The Dentition pattern for Lemurs is: 2.1.3.3

C. )Lemurs have teeth that are perfectly adapted for shearing leaves and crushing seeds. In the tooth comb of most lemurs, the bottom incisors and canine teeth are procumbent (face forward rather than up) and finely spaced, thus providing either as a grooming or feeding tool.

Spider Monkey

A.) They found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil. Spider monkeys live in the upper layers of the rainforest and forage in the high canopy, from 25 to 30 m (82 to 98 ft).

B.) The Dentition pattern for Spider Monkey is 2.1.3.3

C.) The diet of spider monkeys consists of about 90% fruits and nuts. They can live for long periods on only one or two kinds of fruits and nuts. They eat the fruits of many big forest trees, and because they swallow fruits whole. 

Baboon

A.) Baboons are found in surprisingly varied habitats and are extremely adaptable. The major requirements for any habitat seems to be water sources and safe sleeping places in either tall trees or on cliff faces. When water is readily available, baboons drink every day or two.

B.) The Dentition pattern for baboons is 2.1.2.3

C.)  Baboons, have cheek pouches that can hold a stomach's worth of food. Baboons can quickly fill up their pouches, then retreat to safety to eat at their leisure.

Gibbon

A.) Gibbons live in the deciduous and evergreen rainforests of Southeast Asia. They are arboreal and are very rarely observed on the ground. . Gibbons are brachiators, meaning that they move from tree to tree by swinging from their arms between branches. Their long arms and thumbs attached at the wrist allow them to move quickly and agilely among the trees. Gibbons are also capable of moving short distances along tree branches on just their hind legs (bipedalism), with their arms raised above their heads for balance.

B.) The Dentition pattern for Gibbons is 2.1.2.3

C.) They forage for food in the forests during the day, eating fruit, leaves, flowers, seeds, tree bark, and tender plant shoots. They also eat insects, spiders, bird eggs, and small birds. 

Chimpanzee

A.) They live in savannahs in tropical forests in Africa, Guinea, western Uganda and Tanzania.

B.) The Dentition pattern for chimps is 2.1.2.3

C.) They are omnivorous, therefore need incisors to pierce there food. They eat plants, animals, fruits and insects. 

4. From doing this assignment, i have learned that animals dentition patterns change based on their environment. They need this adaptation to occur, otherwise they would not be able to survive. This makes sense because it is is basically natural selection. The animals who do not adapt will not survive, the ones who do will continue on and produce offspring that carry the same trait.

Analogy/Homology

1. a. Whales and Humans share a homologous trait. The bones on the front fins of a whale are homologous to the bones in a human arm. 

    b. The bones are in different in size and serve slightly different functions depending on the animal. The differences can be easily observed. The structure of the bones are different. Both humans and whales have phalanges, however the sizes of the ulna, radius, and humerus are different. Those three bones are larger in humans than in whales.

    c. The legged sea cow is the common ancestor of the whale and human. This ancestor possessed this homologous trait because it was a sea animal that evolved with limbs and went out of the sea to land. Then returned to the sea while containing limbs.

    d. Images:

whale

human

2. a. Dolphins and Sharks posses an analogous trait. This trait is the dorsal fin.

    b. The differences of the trait in these species are in 4 different categories; Number, curve, texture, and attachment. Most dolphins have just one dorsal fin, while many shark species have a second. A dolphins fin has a curved silhouette, while most shark fins have a straight forward edge. The fins of dolphins are smooth and firm, while sharks have notched or ragged look to the trailing edge of their dorsal fin. The shark fin is supported by many fibrous strands, unlike dolphin fins. The dolphin fin is smoothly connected to the back of the animal, while the rear edge of the shark fin is slightly detached creating a free tip.

   c. Dolphins evolved from an artiodactyl, a land mammal with even number of toes. The closest relative of all the whales and dolphins is the hippo. Hippos do not have fins. No artiodactyl has fins. That means dolphins evolved their fins independently of sharks.

  d. Images:

Dolphin

Shark

Protein Synthesis

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