1. 1. Cold is an environmental stress that negatively impacts the survival of humans by disturbing homeostasis. Being exposed to cold temperatures can lead to hypothermia which occurs when core body temperatures are not maintained. Cold environments can cause one’s core body temperature to drop and in some cases can be life threatening.
2. 2. Individuals who constantly live in cold areas tend to adjust in many different ways. In the short term adaptation, one can maintain homeostasis as soon as the cold environment is removed. Shivering would be an example of one being cold.
An example of a facultative adaptation would be when and individual is exposed to freezing temperatures for a long time. After the individual is removed from the cold, he would not be able to adjust quickly but will require more time to maintain homeostasis.
Developmental adaptations would be when one person’s body can tolerate cold climates better than the other person due to living constantly in colder areas.
A cultural adaptation of the cold environment would be their diet. People living in colder areas need to eat more calories than those who live in warmer areas.
k3.
There are many benefits of studying human variation through adaptation. There are many incidences where adaptation has caused evolution and is part of the natural selection process. Through the study of adaptation, we know how certain individuals adapt to their environments and to pass those genes to the next generation.
4. Environmental influences can cause different people to adapt in different ways. Some may be able to adapt better in certain situations due to the location they live in. Race may have an influence in adapting to environmental changes but that is not all that contributes to it.
Good description of the stress and the issue of race vs. clines.
ReplyDeleteYour discussion of the adaptations tend to only describe the environmental conditions themselves and not the adaptation.
Short term: Correct... shivering is a short term response.
Facultative: Adapting is not how long you are exposed to the stress but how your body adapts to the stress. What facultative responses do our bodies exhibit to cold stress?
Developmental: Yes, this type of adaptation occurs after a population has lived in a cold climate over a long period of time, but what is an example of a developmental adaptation?
Cultural: Okay, diet has a cultural component but it is in response to biological feedback to increase calorie intake. Cultural adaptations to the cold are things like heavy clothing.
good post. I didn't really see how a person adapts when they are in the cold for a long time. I like your picture if the frozen car though, that is crazy. But didn't really see any of the other adaptions either. except the last one about eating more food.
ReplyDeleteHint to both of you: Bergmann's and Allen's rule. Chapter 16.
ReplyDelete