Natural Selection - Assignment Example

Anthropology Assignment Question Mechanisms that lead to changes in species include natural selection and genetic drift. Natural selection elucidates how organisms interrelate with their environment hence developing necessary adaptation to survive for the fittest. Natural selection acts similarly on all organisms, but some organism will exhibit small transformations while other will reproduce more different trait that will favor organism to survive for the fittest Natural selection demonstration The above illustration demonstrates how beetle with green color were so vulnerable to predator hence unable to survive for the fittest compare to brown beetles that adapt favorable trait. The brown beetles had developed more advantage trait that allowed them to have more offspring and less vulnerable to predator. Therefore, living organisms continue to become new species through natural selection working on mutation. Genetic drift is among the main mechanisms force that drive evolution thus resulting to appearance of new species. Genetic drift operates on random chance where a certain population of an organism may be affected by ecological disasters. Imagine there is a breeding population of 100 in a given area and the volcanic eruption occurs it will possibly kill every organism that is close as there is no any organism in the population that have adaptation toward this kind of calamity (Goodall 159). Therefore, a half of the population might die, and the remaining population will result to the appearance of new species as individual who have remain will possibly lack the exact alleles as the whole population had before the occurrence of the calamity. Illustration of genetic drift 2(A). Evolution comprises of two processes which are cladogenesis and anagenesis, and this two process are essential at describing how new species came to appear either as from a single lineage or from the branching lineage. Anagenesis is process which describes how species can evolve from a single lineage, as the population continues to develop new traits. Cladogenesis, on the other hand, describes the budding of new species from parent species that continue to exist. 2 b). The different between phylogenetic tree and cladogram is phylogenetic tree represent time in which primates have change from ancestor while cladogram made no reference to time. Question: 3a) Question 3b) i).All primates share the following characteristic: Have five fingers and fingernails Have generalized dental partner All primate have brain ii).All strepsirhines share the following characteristic: They have wet nose They have small brain They have toothcombs iii).All haplorhines share the following traits: They have lager eyes than brain They have tarsal bones They have long fingers and toes iv). All Tarsiers have following traits: They have long anklebone which helps them in jumping long distance. They have large eyes They have wide postorbital nose v). All anthropoids have the following traits: They fused skull They prehensile for holding trees They have ischial callositie vi).All platyrrhines have the following traits: They have three premolars They have primitive ear structure They possess edgeways facing nostrils vii).All Catarrhines possess the following traits They have two premolars They have callosities They have downward facing nostrils Question .4 a) lemur - Ring tail lemur b) loris - Slender Loris c) tarsier - Philippine tarsier d) platyrrhine –Philip Hershkovitz e) cercopithecoidea- Macaques f) Ape (hominoidea) – chimpanzees 5(A) what are advantages and disadvantages do primates gain from living in groups? i. Advantages are: They cooperate in searching food Primate live together for security purposes ii. Disadvantages are: they create high competition for food primate living together increase parasite and disease Question 5b Most primates including human being have been living in large or small social group that has help them protect themselves against predator and also in hunting for food. i. Solitary or noyau is one of the natures in which primate have tried to use thus adapting the environment conditions fundamental for survival. Orangutans are example of the primate that live a more solitary lifestyle, and most social-link take place between adult female and their dependent who live in home range (Goodall 247). It fascinating to recognize Orangutan society protect themselves as everyone resident home range of female it covered with another home range of male, who is their primary mating partner. ii. Monogamy depicts how primates have been socializing using different mating system. Birds are the most pair-living primate they live in a family group thus successful attains rearing of offspring. In many birds’ spices, pairs-member invests highly in providing the young offspring, and this has effectively made the adult stay together. iii. Polyandry is way in which female primate interact by forming a stable sexual relationship with more than one male. The well-known species that polyandry is gorilla. Gorilla has group made up of eight female members and is dominated by one adult male. These group maintains by strong male who repel other males by intimidating those who attempt to intrude in the group iv. Multi-male is type of social organization where a group of species contains more than one offspring, adult male and adult female. Chimpanzees are example of species that socialize in this fission-fashion. In multi-male groups of chimpanzees, females will mate with different top-ranking males as well as the adolescence male occasionally. Most females in multi-male groups do not have a specific mate partner as there is one single male who have full domination over the reproductive share of female v. One-male is the social way where one male primate interrelates with a crowd of female and their immature progenies, but immediately male progeny reach puberty they are evicted. Gelada baboons are example of a primate that socializes using one-male. The species live in bands of approximately 15 members made up of offspring adults’ male and female. vi. Fission–fusion, this is a form of social organization where primate form group to help the hunted food. The social group size is not permanent as individual enters and leave the group. Hyenas are example of species that observer fission–fusion forms of socialization. Hyena my leave one social group in favor of associating with other groups either for reproductive motivates purpose or for food benefit. vii. Hamadryas is species of baboon, and they socialize trough forming four-level social groups. Most social relations happen within a small social system known as harems who are the dominant male. The bands are made up of 200 members who more often socialize through travelling and sleeping together. Question 6 Language was developed as a result of evolution and adaptation to the environment. “Symbolic language” is believed to be the first language that was used by chimps, bonobos and humans. The cognitive of chimpanzee and bonobos has vital properties of human language; infant chimp, an Infant bonobo, and an infant human have similarities oh how they use communicative gesture, facial expression and vocalization. The only limitation facing chimps and bonobos is that they lack cognitive capacities to enhance them acquire communicative systems such as duality of patterning, combinatory extension of meaning and displacement. Human beings have developed their language through using their high cognitive capability which enables them to associate vocalization with gesture thus building spoken language. Question 7 Goodall reveals the chimp-society customs which shape their descendants personality. Good-mothers in chimps-society tend to be loving, protective and give their offspring attention they require. Offspring brought up by good-mother tend to be more assertive, and they are likely to make a big difference. Goodall described how Goblin a member of chimps-society benefited for having a good-mother who had enhanced him to develop a good personality that shaped him to become an alpha male. Goodall also has use chimps-society to given an example of how bad-mother influences their offspring personality negatively. Pom the daughter of Passion has developed bad personality of killing and eating other chimpanzees’ descendants, and she learnt this from her mother who had developed this due to conflict between the Kasakela and Figan (Goodall p.278). Goodall had tried to show that there both bad-mother and good-mother in human society as well as to chimp-society and how they affect progenys personality development. Children who grow-up in an environment that offer them love, attention and support are like to become well-adjusted, contented and likeable member thus can be good leaders. Where the parents are so authoritative, unloving and unsupportive their offspring develop a personality that will make them aggressive, uncaring and unloving members. Question 8(a) Chimps-Society is larger complex community characterize with the social group of male and female. Male in chimps-society is dominant over female, in every group there is an alpha male who are more social than female. Alpha male constantly compete for the alpha position as this will grant them an opportunity of copulating with the female, therefore, this make male to be more social than female. Female in chimps-society gains their estrus mostly when food is readily accessible. When female start to produce estrus, they get a chance of interact with the alpha male who at this particular period restrict other males from mating with a female on session. Female with estrus form courtship with the alpha male so as to acquire resources such as food as the alpha leader strive to obtain for their mating partner. Female take care of their descendants and immediately the male progeny attain adolescence stage they are eliminated from female group thus restricting them from mating with a female on session. The chimps-society has many similarities with human society as both female and male have their social group. Female in human society are responsible in taking care their descendants until they reach the adolescence stage where they are forced to live female group and join male group. 8: b). The different between baboons and chimpanzees is that baboons perceive sex as a pleasurable activity: baboons seem to have sex more often than chimpanzees. Chimpanzees observe a particular season when female start to produce estrus. Sex activity among chimpanzees is purposefully for recreation and not for pleasure. Question 9 Jane Goodall experience one of the darkest when she was force to live in a prison camp due to arises of civil war in Belgium, the camp was the only safest place. This hinder Goodall movement to Gombe forest where she was undertaking her research on chimp-society. Goodall also experienced awful moment in 1970 as chimp-society develops hatred and conflict toward each other thus led raise of two antagonistic groups. Jane came realize that chimpanzees can be awful animals she experiences a worse conflict between Kasakela and Kahama, which in one way had affected her research. Question 10 Both Figan and Goblin at one point had attained alpha male status through formation of a coalition with other top ranking male in the group. Figan formed the coalition with Fabens after his brother got paralyzed from polio in 1996. Fagan reign to power as an alpha in 1972 after seeking support from Faben thus defeating prior male alpha Humphrey. Goblin reign to power in the year 1982 and become very power alpha, but later in 1889 he was overthrown by coalition led by Wilkie. Goblin was beaten badly but after recovering he reign to power again through forming a coalition with other top-ranking alpha males. Question 11 Goblin is one of the characters who impress me; he was the oldest son of Melissa. Goblin role model was figan who was the alpha leader, and this made him utilize the chance by learning leadership skill as he hopes to become a leader in future. In 1982, Goblin became one the Alpha male leader he once hopes for, besides, this Goblin emerge to the best leader who manager to control aggressive coalition. The character impresses me for his good leadership skills and his determination to overcome life challenges such as polio and aggressive coalition. Works Cited Goodall, Jane. Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print. Read More