Human Variation & Race

Environmental Stresses:

Humans maintain an average body temperature of around 98.6 degrees fahrenheit, but individual differences can cause our body temperature to be one degree higher or lower than the average. The human body has a temperature regulating system which allows us to adapt to climate changes and maintain a normal body temperature. However, in extremely cold climates, humans are susceptible to developing hypothermia. The human body begins the hypothermia process when our internal temperature drops to around 94 degrees fahrenheit. From this point, our body temperature will continue to drop substantially unless we receive the help we need to warm our bodies back to normal temperature. The longer our bodies are exposed to this harsh cold, and the longer we wait (or are forced to wait) to warm our bodies, the higher the likelihood of the situation to end in death. This environmental stress effects human survival negatively because our bodies are not equipped for extremely cold conditions. 

Adaptations:

Short Term- An example of a short term adaptation that humans resort too as an effort to quickly warm our bodies in cold climates is shivering and shaking. Shivering and shaking cause muscle movement, which causes heat flow in the body. Shivering also causes muscles to spasm which results in more heat for our vital organs. Although shivering and shaking may work to keep our bodies warm for a short period of time in relatively cold conditions, it will not provide enough internal heat to prevent our bodies from developing hypothermia in extreme cold conditions.

Faculative- Our bodies often take a physiological approach to keep heat from escaping in cold weather conditions. This process is referred to as vasoconstriction, in which our blood vessels close to the skin's surface narrow thus decreasing peripheral blood flow. Vasoconstriction can be dangerous if the temperature is below freezing, as it can result in frost bite. As an act to prevent frost bite, our bodies respond through vasodilation which increases blood flow to our skin. In the extreme cold climate, our bodies usually alternate between vasoconstriction and vasodilation as an effort to preserve itself and maintain internal warmth.

Developmental- Those who live in cold climates tend to have more body mass, particularly around their core. By maintaining more body fat and thus a higher weight, people living in arctic climates are able to maintain a healthy body temperature. As long as the vital organs are covered and protected by layers of excess fat, people are able to withstand living in these harsh conditions.

Cultural- People also use their culture to be able to survive the cold climate. They do so by eating more fatty, high calorie foods. When humans consume these foods rich in calories and fat, their metabolic rate increases substantially causing their bodies to produce heat. We also adapt through cultural aspects by wearing heavy clothing. One living in the cold climate may wear thick apparel made from animal fur and hide.

Benefits:

Studying human variation from this perspective is beneficial for us. We can benefit by learning how people who live in extreme climates are able to adapt and remain healthy. This is also beneficial because it helps us to understand the struggles of those living in these environments and how to help them. Every person will adapt differently to each type of climate, and some will take longer than others to be comfortable living through these challenges, but in the end, everyone of us are able to adapt to these extremes.

Information from these explorations can be very useful to us. These explorations help to educate us on the dangers associated with extreme climates. They show us the clothing we would need to protect our bodies from harm, and inform us of a change in diet that could save our lives. An example of how this information can be used in a productive way is by showing us which foods and clothes can help to provide the necessities maintain a healthy body temperature, which allows us to have the knowledge regarding which animals to raise or which foods and materials to purchase.

Race:

Race is not an effective way to understand the variation of the adaptions from question two. It is not possible to determine how one would adapt to environmental challenges based upon race, just as one cannot say that a dog is vicious just because of its breed. The study of environmental influences on adaptation is a better way to understand human variation because this method of study includes bodily reactions, and cultural reactions to the climate. If adaptation were based on race, no one would ever adapt to harsh conditions, as all human skin is equally thick. The only true way of studying human variation is through bodily reaction, genes, and culture.

Language & Communication

Part 1:
     I found this experiment to be both difficult and simple. It was simple in the sense that it did not require a lot of knowledge or research on the subject. However, it did require patients, critical thinking and listening, and comprehension skills from my partners. Needless to say, i found this experiment to be very entertaining and different from experiments i have conducted previously, where as my partners thought it to be somewhat fun, but frustrating.

     The impressions of my partners varied depending upon the hand motions, facial expressions, and other body language i chose to use. While conducting my experiment, i found it would often take multiple attempts and changes in my body language to get my partners to fully understand what i was trying to communicate. My partners did alter their way of communicating with me, but only slightly by using more hand motions and speaking slowly with larger mouths.

     If my partners and i were two separate cultures meeting for the first time, the culture who communicated vocally and through writing would have the advantage. This is because with out vocal and written language, understanding and advancement is difficult to achieve. The attitudes of the speaking culture may be harsh toward the culture that does not use symbolic language. People of the speaking culture would probably assume that the other culture are uneducated. They may also feel superior because they have the "upper-hand" (so to speak) in developing new things.

     Some individuals in our culture who have difficulty communicating through means of spoken language are the mute and the deaf. The deaf often have trouble communicating via spoken language because they lack the ability to hear the pronunciation of words and letters. Mutes can hear and likely understand the pronunciation of words, but cannot communicate with us vocally. Those of us who have been privileged enough to be able to speak, and to hear often find it difficult to communicate with these individuals. We will try things such as slowing the pace of our speech or emphasizing the letters in the word with hopes that the deaf can read lips. Another way we communicate with the deaf and the mute is through written language which is probably the easiest way for us and for the mute, but still challenging for the deaf.

Part 2:
     I was unable to last the entire fifteen minutes of the experiment using only vocal communication. When I speak, I use a lot of body language and hand motions to add emphasis and understanding to my side of the conversation. This was very difficult for me as well because I wear my emotions on my face meaning i use a lot of facial expressions, so not being able to use them while i was talking was extremely challenging. I felt robotic.

     I found
that it was very difficult for my partners to be able to understand the context of what i was saying. It was also more difficult to keep my partners engaged in the conversation because a conversation without any physical aspect is very boring, and can be taken out of context. For example, my partners were unable to tell whether I was trying to be mean (yes, I actually have to try to be mean..I'm too nice) or just being sarcastic. This actually added humor to the experiment because i could barely do this without showing any sense of emotion or movement.

     Non- speech language techniques are very important to our ability to communicate effectively. Unspoken language helps to provide emphasis and clarity to what the speaker is trying to accomplish in his or her conversation. Physical embellishments in spoken language are also important because just plain old speech can be tedious to listen to and may be misunderstood.

     Yes, there are people who have difficulty reading body language. Some people may mistake certain types of body language for the party providing to be rude, or funny when that is really not the case. Some people may think the speaker is just flopping their limbs around because they do not pick up on body language at all. Being able to read body language is definitely a benefit. This is because body language tells us so much about the context of the conversation. For example, If someone says "hi, how are you?" but keeps walking instead of stopping to talk and finish the conversation, they likely are in a rush. I do not feel there is an environment where not being able to read body language is beneficial. I think being able to read body language is always beneficial because body language tells you a lot about someones personality or mood.

Piltdown Hoax

The Piltdown Hoax was discovered in Piltdown, England in 1912 by Charles Dawson. The news that an ancient human jaw bone had been found spread quickly among the community.Dawson quickly acted on his discovery by contacting Arthur Woodward, a geologist, who joined Dawson and helped to discover more skull fragments. Many people thought of this discovery as the "missing link" between humans and apes until it was recently discovered that this finding
was just a hoax. Scientists researched this discovery and in determining the age of the fragments with fluorine, discovered the fragments were much too young to have come from the time period expected. Once they found that the age was impossible, they began to look for more clues and found that the fragments had been stained to appear older. They also discovered that the teeth on the jaw fragment had been filed and shaped to look like
that of a human.

The human fault that comes into play in the scenario is this: humans are selfish by nature and will do what ever it takes to get a step ahead. This scientist could have cared less about the meaning behind his hoaxed discovery, instead he had his eye on something else. Something that would help him get ahead and look good to the community. Hoaxes and the truth behind human nature negatively effect the scientific process because once a hoax is discovered, researchers must go back in time and reanalyze all evidence pertaining to the particular case. This also leaves us wondering what other discoveries could be nothing more than hoaxes.

The positive aspects responsible for the revealing of the skull to be a fraud are fluorine, which helped the scientists by revealing the fragments' actual age. While examining the fragments after finding out that the age was a hoax, scientists also found that the bones had been stained, filed and cut to appear older, more human like, and to camouflage the evidence of them being orangutan skull fragments rather than human.

I do not think it is possible to remove the human factor from science. If humans were to be removed from science there would be no new discoveries being made and no advances in technology. This is because humans would be replaced with machinery that was created by man kind, thus resulting in the same amount of chance of errors and mistakes happening again. Not to mention we would never fully be able to remove humans from science because the machines that would be created as replacement would be scientific creations requiring maintenance that only the creator can provide. I do not think that the human factor should ever be removed from science because the removal would cripple advances in technology and discoveries.

The life lesson i have learned from this historical event is to never take someone's word. I learned this because this event proves that anyone can lie at anytime about anything and depending on the person is able to do so without being questioned. For example, if a doctor were to tell a patient that cancer is caused by close contact with water in a certain area, the patient is more than likely not going to question the doctor, instead he will stay away from the "affected" area. In turn, if you or i were to say such a thing to the same patient, the patient would question whether or not we had a medical degree and probably not pay any attention to the information at all.

Comparative Primates: Body Size and Sexual Dimorphism

Lemurs (Prosimians/ Strepsirhini)

A. Lemurs are only found the off the southeast coast of Africa on the islands of Madagascar and Comoro. Lemurs live in a variety of different habitats (tropical, desert, etc.) versus just one particular region. Though lemurs are found all throughout the islands,  they are most commonly found in the overgrown forests due to their being rich in food. Lemurs are arboreal, meaning they live in trees. However, this is only the majority of lemurs, there are larger species that live on the ground. Lemurs eat a variety of different nuts and fruits. They move around a home range during the day to secure their food. They move to different locations for sleeping purposes in order to remain safe from predators.

B. Lemurs do not have sexual dimorphism based on size, however they do posses other differences that are more common among one sex. For example, the male lemur's upper canines are longer than those of the female. Also, the male's antebrachial gland is larger and thus more visible. More obviously though, the male's scrotum is clearly visible and a dead give away as to the difference in the sex.

C. Being arboreal, Lemurs are able to move quickly and virtually invisibly through the trees. They have adapted to living high up, away from most predators. Lemurs have small bodies which aid them in their ability to move quickly and hide in crowded places.

Sources:
 http://www.lemurworld.com/lemur-habitat.html
 http://library.sandiegozoo.org/factsheets/ringtailed_lemur/lemur.htm

Spider Monkey (New World Monkey/ Platyrrhini)

A. Spider monkeys live in the tropical forests of Central and South America. They are arboreal creatures meaning they, as well as lemurs spend most of their time aloft in the trees. Spider moneys have prehensile tails that allow them to grip and swing from branch to branch without thumbs. These primates are social and gather in groups of up to two or three dozen animals. They split up at night for sleeping in groups of half a dozen or less. Spider monkeys find food in the tree tops where they rather enjoy munching on nuts, fruits, leaves, bird eggs, and spiders. They communicate through a variety of calls and screeches.

B.Spider monkeys have slight sexual dimorphism in their size. Males are slightly larger than female
spider monkeys. The male spider monkey generally weighs slightly more than the female spider monkey. Males tend to travel in subgroups with all other males where as women tend to travel alone or with their offspring.

C. Spider monkeys are small and light allowing them to quickly and silently move from tree to tree. Spider monkeys They are strong an have prehensile tails which allows them to remain in the trees away from their predators.

Sources: 
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/spider-monkey/
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02382267

Baboon (Old World Monkey/ Cercopithecidae)

A. There are five different species of baboons, all of which live in Africa or Arabia. Baboons are one of the largest monkeys in existence. The average male weighs thirty three to eighty two pounds and measures twenty to forty inches in length not including their tails. Baboons generally live in the savanna, but a few also inhabit the tropical forests. Unlike new world monkeys, baboons do not have prehensile tails, however they are able to climb trees to eat, sleep and scope out trouble. Baboons spend the majority of their time on the ground. Baboons are omnivorous meaning they enjoy plants and vegetables as well as meat.

B. Male baboons are much larger than female baboons. Male baboons weigh about forty pounds where as females weigh closer to twenty pounds. Facial size and shape are other examples of sexual dimorphism among baboons. Female baboons' heads and faces growth slows much earlier than that of the male.

C. Baboons do not have prehensile tails, but they are still able to climb trees. This is because baboons have very opposable fingers and thumbs which aid them in gripping a variety of things. Their size helps them to hunt their prey and gather the other foods they enjoy eating.

Sources:
 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2021194
http://pin.primate.wisc.edu/factsheets/entry/gelada_baboon
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/baboon/



Gibbon (Lesser Ape/ Hylobatidae)

A. Gibbons inhabit the forests of Southeastern Asia. They are adapted to the trees and rarely descend to the ground. There are fifteen species of gibbons. They are tailless with hook shaped hands and long arms used to grip branches and reach faraway limbs. They can move through the jungle swinging from tree to tree at up to thirty five miles per hour. They are they most bipedal of non human primates. Gibbons are monogamous and live in family groups. They eat fruit, especially figs. Gibbons weigh nine to twenty nine pounds depending on species.

B. Gibbons have very slight sexual dimorphisms in size aside from the siamang speciies. Although they do not generally have a size difference, they do have differences in fur color, in fact the difference is so great that the two almost appear to be a different species. Female white cheeked gibbons have cream colored fur with a tiny patch of black on the top of their head. Male gibbons are completely black except for white patches on their cheeks. When gibbons are born, their fur is the same cream colored fur of their mother. After a year of age, their fur turns black. As the gibbons age, the females fur returns to the cream color of their mother's where as the males fur remains black.

C. The fur color of the gibbons is used as a sort of camouflage. The fur of the mother and her offspring being the same color helps to aid the mother gibbon in protecting her young from predators as it makes blending more simple. Gibbons being able to swing from tree to tree at high speeds helps them as well because they are able to quickly get away from their predators.

Sources:
http://www.czs.org/czs/Brookfield/Exhibit-and-Animal-Guide/Tropic-World/White-Cheeked-Gibbon
http://anthro.palomar.edu/primate/prim_7.htm
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/gibbon/

Chimpanzee (Great ape/ Hominidae)

A.  Chimpanzees are forest animals. They are primarily found in the rain forest and in wet savannas. The majority of their sleeping and eating is in trees making them arboreal, although they spend equal time on land also making them terrestrial. The chimpanzee has a thick set body with long arms, short legs and no tail. Chimps live in groups, also known as troops of thirty to eighty individuals made up of all females, all males or a variety of the two. They are quadrupedal, walking with their fingers half flexed to support their weight on their knuckles. Chimps are agile climbers, building nests high up in trees to rest in during midday. They are omnivores and eat about eighty different varieties of plants as well as hunt monkeys, and even eat infants of other chimpanzee groups.

B. There is sexual dimorphism among chimpanzees regarding size. Males are larger than females weighing one hundred pounds

and growing to be about five and one half feet tall. Female chimps are only around eighty two pounds and are much less muscular. Chimpanzees are male dominant with intense aggression between groups.

C. The size difference of the chimps helps the male show that he is more dominant. Both sexes are large and great hunters. Being large and heavy helps them because they are more ofthen the predator rather than the prey.


Sources:
http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/engchimpanzee.html
http://anthro.palomar.edu/primate/prim_7.htm
http://www.eva.mpg.de/3chimps/files/apes.htm


Summary

Every species, majorly or minimally, is affected by the environment. In my research i learned that all species adapt to their environment based on their needs and the resources available to them. I found that many of these primates have only slight sexual dimorphisms in size. This is very interesting but true for humans as well. The average woman is not much smaller than a man as far as height is concerned. I also learned about these primates environments and habits which was very interesting as i did not know many of the details involved in the adaptation of these species to their environments.

Homologous Traints vs. Analogous Traits

Homologous Traits:

Whale flippers are homologous to human arms. Whales, as well as humans, are considered mammals. Most people would not guess this of whales considering they are sea creatures. Whales unlike fish maintain an internal body temperature. Their ears contain three small bones used for processing vibrations. Unlike whales, humans are quite obviously land mammals. We share many of the same traits such as being warm blooded, live birth, and growing hair. 

The homologous trait contained in humans and whales is located in the human arm and in the whale flipper. The whale flipper provides the whale with the resources it needs to be able to glide smoothly and quickly through water. Certain species of whales even use their flippers to help them hunt their prey. Whale flippers contain only slight differences from the human arm. The radius of the whale flipper is much smaller than that of the human arm. The human arm as well as the whale flipper both contain a humerus. However, the humerus of the whale flipper contains a slight, smooth arch, where as the human humerus contains a much deeper arch. Human phalanges are significantly shorter and more proportionate to one an other where on the other hand, the phalanges contained in the whale flipper are three short phalanges accompanied by two longer ones. The bone structure of the whale's flipper (shown to the right) is significantly different from the structure of the human arm (shown below to the left) in that the human arm is much longer and thinner than the flipper of the whale. There are also differences in the shape of the bones themselves as well as in the size of the bones and the spacing between them as previously described above. 

The common ancestor of the two species is a placental mammal such as a small insect eater. This ancestor possessed the same homologous trait as the two listed above. The species previously described are also placental mammals, meaning that they nourished their young in the womb by sharing oxygen and nutrients. 

Analogous Traits: 

Penguins and fish are analogous to one another based upon a fish's fin structure and a penguin's fin-like structure. Penguins use their fins to help them navigate through the arctic conditions in which they live including water. Fish use their fins to navigate through only water. The fins of penguins can also be considered wings seeing as penguins are birds. 

Both penguins and fish use their fins (wings) for navigation as well as for balance. It is obvious that the two are analogous because one is a bird and one is a fish thus informing us that the two species evolved with the best functional feature to use based on their environment.

The common ancestor of penguins and fish did not posses the analogous trait. This is because the analogous trait is not passed through ancestral lineage. These species developed these traits based upon their environmental demands where as the species listed above in the homologous explanation received their traits from their ancestors. 

 

Sources: http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/analogous-structures-definition-examples-quiz.html

http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/hillpark/Departments/Science/Watts/SBI3U/Assigned_Work/Evolution/Homologous_and_Analogous_Vestigial_and_Competition.pdf

Protein Synthesis

AGTTATGTGGACCCGTTCGGGGTTTAACAGATGCCAAUCGAAGUCAAATTAGTCCG

Georges Cuvier

Georges Cuvier is a large positive contributor to Darwin's theory of evolution. He contributed proof that living things change over time by showing that extinctions were real. Cuvier's research concluded that animal species would become extinct due to geological changes and thus thought it impossible for there to be the exact same species living in a different region. The evidence the fossils provided led Cuvier to believe that the earth encountered great catastrophes which would wipe out a number of species.

Cuvier's discovery supports Darwin's theory that all species are eventually replaced with new species that repopulate the earth. Cuvier's research ties into Darwin's idea that the earth has limited resources and that organisms with easy access to these resources will survive. Darwin's limited resource theory provides intellectual reasoning to Cuvier's discovery of extinction. Cuvier thought that geological changes were the reasons behind extinction and that because the species were extinct in a certain region, that it was impossible for the species to be roaming elsewhere; however, Darwin believed that when the environment changed, so did the traits of the organisms causing them to adjust and keep living.

Darwin would have developed his theory of natural selection without the ideas brought by Cuvier because Cuvier did not think Darwin's theory was possible. Darwin was forced to be cautious about how he approached the theory of evolution to the church because religious believers were defensive to the idea that God created the earth and all of its inhabitants. He was also cautious about when he published his book because of the negative reaction he would have encountered from the church.

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_08