Human Adaptation to the Environment - Variation and Race

The concept of homeostasis is widely used, in physiology and psychology, to identify what seems to be a general attribute of living organisms: the tendency to maintain and restore certain steady states or conditions of the organism. An obvious example is that of body temperature, which in the human tends to fluctuate only in a narrow range about the value 98.6° F. When the temperature rises above the normal range, corrective reflexes (perspiration, reduced metabolism, etc.) go into action to restore the steady state. Persistent deviation may initiate other actions (moving into the shade, plunging into water, etc.). If body temperature drops, other corrective actions are observed.

 Critics have objected to homeostatic theory as being too conservative, as implying that motivation is conceived solely as operating to restore pre-existing conditions. In a very narrow sense this criticism is true: unless the essential steady states are restored to their normal range, the organism dies. (It is also true that most people are conservative unless deprived.) In a broader sense, homeostatic theory says that energy is mobilized to take action that will restore and protect these steady states, but that the action may be novel and inventive. Fire, clothing, and other inventions serve homeostatic uses. The individual, frustrated by inadequate habits, may acquire new ones which will reduce tension.

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The higher elevations weren’t the regional origin for hominid evolution, various factors in these zones upset homeostasis. Severely limited oxygen supply results in Hypoxia and affects body tissue maintenance, and red blood cell health. The brain, heart, and lungs, likewise suffer from delayed function in environment low in oxygen, the primary energy source being shorted. The sun’s ultraviolet solar radiation is more intense, the greater elevations are above the cloud layer, without protection from harmful rays and radiation. Low humidity, cold temperatures, and rough topography had severe adverse-effects on homeostasis, forcing the body into change, upsetting the metabolism. Hypoxia which affects all areas of the body was the most critical to human survival.

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a. When it comes to short-term adaptation: One example of short term adaptation to an environment with high elevations is the development of acclimatization. This quickly developing adaption permits the body to be more efficient in a low-oxygen environment, maintaining homeostasis for as long as possible. After a few days of living within these forceful environments the body upsurges the metabolic rate, respiration, and heart rate. Non-essential bodily functions are suppressed providing the best chances for survival. 

b. When it comes to facultative adaptation: The increased hemoglobin-producing red blood cells are a facultative adaptation. The increase in these cells permits for more hemoglobin production and in-thus more oxygen transport between organs and tissues, as genes are being switched on or off to affect a phenotypic expression. 

c. A prime example of a developmental /genetic adaption at high elevations is the way gluclose is processed in the body. High-land Quechua utilize glucose in a process that allows for efficient oxygen use in their low-oxygen environment. Glucose is critical for survival, as it is the only energy the brain will utilize to maintain function. The changes in glucose efficiency are measured as genetic mutations in MtDNA. These mutations have become more obvious in these environments, presenting how important an adaption they truly are in the long-term.

 d. A prime example of a cultural adaptation in extraordinary elevation environments are adaptations developed by man, and are utilized to endure and thrive. An example would be breathing masks that climbers use to be able to carry out extreme bodily function in a low-oxygen environment like Mt. Kilimanjaro. These oxygen masks contain special bottles containing high pressure chemicals that provide a extended duration of constant supply of oxygen to the climber.

 3.  Adaptation is essential in order to survive and move ahead in the world. The ability to adapt to people, situations and surroundings affords people a greater opportunity to get what they want and what they need. Without the ability to adapt, people may find themselves stuck in situations far longer than is necessarily and unable to reach their goals. The study of human variation through a wide array of environmental clines accurately shows how adaptive the human nervous system is. Testing the limits of survival, and the way in which the body can adapt to such environments leads to added knowledge about the outer -rims of human potential. This includes mental capacity, baron survival, and athletics thus giving understanding into future evolution. This evidence is critical in determining how the body may respond to a outbreak of an infectious disease, or how a new drug may affect ones long-term health. These environments push the survival of humanity to greater limits, and portray the methodology in which adaptation occurs.

4. Using race to understand why or how the human nervous system adapts to a certain environmental cline is not only inconclusive, but also inefficient. Race is slightly more than related ancestors who possess like physical qualities, and/or country origin, giving very little information on the genetic, environmental, or cultural adaptations a person may have endured. It's not the skin color, or the genetic likenesses that members of a certain race possess, more so it's the makings and pressures that previous environmental cline might have imposed on the human. These adaptations become quite useless in an opposing cline, the body will be forced into further alteration to maintain homeostasis. It’s possible the genetic and physical similarities could be used to measure the slight differences in how certain races adapt to a punishing environment. The environment forces parallel adaption and change in each species regardless of racial background. Overall eventually, when placed in a cruel and unforgiving environment, all people, regardless of race will adapt in like ways (just at different rates that will in time will more-less even out).

“I am what time, circumstances, history, have made of me, certainly, but I am also much more than that. So are we all”. – James Baldwin