2.
A) Short term adaptation:
A short term adaptation that we make to adapt to being in higher altitude is faster breathing and heart rate. The heart needs to pump faster to try and compensate for the lack of oxygen that is being taken in and making to the blood cells.
B) Facultative adaptation:
When a person spends a long period of time at a high altitude the body starts to adapt by producing more red blood cells and capillaries, very thin blood vessels, to help carry more oxygen to the body. The lungs also expand to help with osmosis of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
C) Developmental adaptations:
After thousands of years of living at a high altitude changes to the DNA to the DNA of the people living there starts to change. A change that has been made with the Indians that live in the mountains of Peru and Bolivia is that they produce more hemoglobin in their blood which helps oxygen travel through the body.
D) Cultural adaptations:
Many people love to climb mountains as a hobby but due to the higher altitudes they have a hard time getting the oxygen they need. To help with this the hikers will bringing oxygen tanks with them to help them breath as they travel to higher altitudes.
3. By studying the variation in humans in different altitudes we can learn more about how our bodies adapt to different situations and possibly find solutions to altitude sickness. It also could help us to learn about the process of DNA changing to help people live in certain areas.
4. I do not think that race can be used to understand the adaptations discussed above because regardless of your race you will adapt to the area you are living. There could be a group of lighter skinned people and a group of darker skinned people that live in the same area and after a long history of living in a certain area, such as an area with high altitude, they will both adapt to living there. Environmental variation is a better way to understand human variation because the environment that people live in plays a bigger role on the adaptations that are made with our bodies as well as adaption made consciously by humans than race does.
I think high altitude is a powerful environmental stress that is underestimated. This past summer I had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hike to Everest Base Camp. It was a breath taking experience in more than one way. The mountains were astounding, but so was the powerful affect on my family's bodies - particularly mine. As the elevation increased my pace slowed until, after crossing the tree line, I was at a zombie paced waddle. There were signs on the path saying in English and Nepalese "Altitude kills - Move slow." In my case, going slow wasn't an option, but it showed me first hand the overwhelming affect of high altitudes.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting essay. I like how you focused on a facultative adaptation that occurs at a microscopic, undetectable level. The picture that accompanied the developmental adaptation was very helpful in visualizing how this adaptation took place. I’m not really sure if recreational climbers using oxygen tanks is a cultural adaptation or not. Something regarding the diet or clothing of people who live on a mountain full time, like the inhabitants of Nepal, might have been better. Overall, though, I enjoyed your piece.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post and I loved the images, particularly the "in-motion" image for the short term response. Good discussion on the problems with race in this type of study.
ReplyDelete@Brooke,
ReplyDeleteThank you for contributing your personal experiences to the discussion. I envy your opportunity to visit the Everest Base Camp. What an experience!