2. Four ways in which humans have adapted to high altitude are by having children in the higher altitudes like the Ethiopians and the andes in tibet have,so that they produced children with greater lung and heart capacity, exercising and getting used to exercising in the higher altitude, moving to another location established at a lower altitude, and developing stronger lungs and hearts. Environments like extreme cold and high mountains have exposed more air pressured. this is the cause of natural selection.
3. The benefit of studying human variation from this perspective across environmental clines is that we obtain more information based upon factual evidence than from the opinion of races. Yes, this information helps everyone to better understand the effects of these stresses so that we can help prevent the problems that come with it.
4.Race cannot be used to understand the variation of the adaptations I listed for number two because they do not influence those adaptations at all. Environmental influences provide stronger evidence of the affects of the environments humans live in than the races of humans. natural selection will always affect us. due to living in a comfortable environment it is hard for us to adapt or even evolve.
I did my post on heat, so I didn't study the effects of high altitude; I thought what you said about having children in higher altitudes and how that would help newer generations acclimate to the environmental stresses was interesting. Are the children actually born with greater lung and heart capacity, or do they simply grow accustomed to the pressures of living with this type of environmental stress? Just driving through higher elevations in places like Utah makes me extremely sick and my nose bleeds uncontrollably. I wonder what causes that. I have never heard of hypoxia before so I found your description helpful. Overall, really good post!
ReplyDeleteGood opening discussion on the stresses associated with high altitude.
ReplyDeleteThe second section asked you to identify four ways in which humans adapt to high altitude: short term, facultative, developmental and cultural. You haven't identified which trait is which so I will go through them one at a time.
Humans can't consciously produce children that produce greater lung capacity, but over time, via natural selection, this will happen and represents a developmental trait. We don't really develop larger heart capacities, but populations living in high altitudes sometimes produce higher hemoglobin capacities from birth.
Moving to a lower altitude isn't an adaptation to high altitude. It is escaping the stress instead of adapting to it.
"Environments like extreme cold and high mountains have exposed more air pressured. this is the cause of natural selection."
It isn't the "cause" of natural selection, but it does drive the selective process as the environmental stress impacting homeostasis.
In the folder for this assignment, there are links to websites that explain adaptations to high altitude. Take some time to review that information (as well as the information on other stresses) to understand what needed to be included here.
I agree the adaptive approach helps to increase our knowledge of human variation but how can we use that information in a concrete, productive way? For example, can we use this information to help improve the technology in airplanes or oxygen tanks for mountain climbing or even for medical purposes?
"Race cannot be used to understand the variation of the adaptations I listed for number two because they do not influence those adaptations at all."
That is precisely correct.
Missing images?
I wondered how people lived in high altitude areas when outsiders visiting the same areas had trouble breathing. I now now that their children had developed higher lung and heart capacities. I enjoyed your post and hope you keep up the good work.
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