Human Adaptation to Climate: Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

Humanity has been adapting to climatic conditions for survival. This adaptation has been witnessed since the evolution of man during the Paleolithic period. Past trends have indicated that with the evolution, various body structures have changed to respond to the climatic changes. The most significant changes include average body weight, brain size, muzzle angles, dentition, and skull structure. In human beings, physical adaptation is regarded as response to external stimuli such as humid heat, extreme cold, high latitudes and desert conditions. To respond to these stimuli, humans go through physiological, morphological and behavioral changes. For instance, humans can easily adapt to cold through behavioral changes such as seeking shelter, wearing protective clothes and warming the house. Increase and decrease in the temperature below and above the normal level also makes the human body to undergo physiological processes, and adapt to the stimuli.

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Various studies have also shown that climate change is one of the most pressing issues in humankind in relation to social, economic and environmental factors. There is evidence on the occurrence of climate which humans need to make quick response. These constant changes imply that there is need to take urgent actions. Even though human societies have made attempts to respond to some of climatic change, the potential increase in climatic conditions may test the edge of the ability to adapt. In this context, adaptation consists of actions taken to respond to external stimuli and reduce adverse environmental effects. For that reason, the importance of human adaption to climate is that it enables the societies to prepare for and prevent or minimize the negative impacts of several environmental stresses such as catastrophic harm. This preparation includes all the efforts to escalate the resilience of the society to climate change, and establish the opportunities to regenerate ecosystems. In this proposal, it will be imperative to explore various sources and determine the author's suggestions regarding the theme. The subject is worth attention because adaptation to climate change requires measures to counteract possible defects of environmental threats on agricultural production, human infrastructure and individual health. In other words, the topic acquaints humanity with response mechanisms needed to survive in the changing environment. As human adaptation to climate becomes a significant issue, a workforce with new attributes and skills will become a major factor in the society. In simple terms, there is need to understand human adaptation to climate because it help individuals to survive in the environment regardless of the climatic changes.

Gibbons, A. (2013). How a fickle climate made us human.

This article accounts for the evolution of man acknowledges Africa as the cradle land for mankind being that the remains of man were discovered in most parts of Africa such as Kenya and Ethiopia. According to Gibbons (2013), humankind evolved and began walking upright to respond to the stimuli. Therefore, the upright man existed as a result of evolution from ancient hominids. This feature gave them a wider view of the surrounding to enable them spot predators and prey in the waist-high stems. Besides, this characteristic freed human hand to use tools. It also influenced the development of their brains.

Makinen, T. M. (2007). Human cold exposure, adaptation, and performance in high latitude environments. American Journal of Human Biology. The Official Journal of the Human Biology Association, 19 (2), 155-164.

This article demonstrates how humans adapt to the cold environment. According to Makinen (2007), behavioral factors such as wearing protective clothing, seeking shelter, transportation, and physical exercise are common in responding to cold exposures. These response mechanisms enhance thermoregulation in the human body by maintaining homeostasis and a high body temperature. These adaptations occur to prevent the exposure of certain diseases such as chronic disorders caused by cold. Biologically, when the body temperature drops below normal, pain in the forearm appear first, then cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms accompanied by white fingers as well as musculoskeletal and peripheral vascular conditions.

Wells, J. C. (2002). Thermal Environment and Human Birth Weight. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 214 (3), 413-425.

This article suggests that human birth weight is influenced by maternal energy supply, disease status, gestation length, smoking and maternal stature with the focus of the thermal environment. According to the author, all mammals should maintain a constant body temperature for metabolic functioning. For humans, they have a relatively slow growth rate of foetus due to exposure of maternal thermal stress for a long period. In other words, exposure to heat stress increases the metabolic rate, hence reducing the birth weight. As such, the variation in the size of the foetus could be due to maternal physiological stimuli to heat stress. Genetic adaptation may be expected in the cases where thermal stress is a significant factor. Further, environmental selective pressure birth weight may be strong. This occurrence makes adaptation of birth weight to heat environment to take place rapidly.

De Azevedo, S., Gonzalez, M. F., Cintas, C., Ramallo, V., Quinto-Sanchez, M. M., & Pazos, B. A. (2017). Nasal airflow simulations suggest convergent adaptation in Neanderthals and modern humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114 (47), 12442-12447.

This article is based on a research about nasal airflow simulations on Neanderthal and modern humans who settles across Western Eurasian cold-climate landscapes. The study showed that nasal airflow simulation is associated with a convergent human adaptation in this environment. The author of this article considers various adaptations suitable to survival in Eurasian cold-climate landscapes. Some of them include morphological changes in the nose and functions aimed to warm or humidify the air before it enters the lungs. One feature that commonly exists in the landscapes is a narrow superior internal nasal dimensions that is said to be adaptive because of the greater turbulence it would bestow to the nasal airflow.

References

De Azevedo, S., Gonzalez, M. F., Cintas, C., Ramallo, V., Quinto-Sanchez, M. M., & Pazos, B. A. (2017). Nasal airflow simulations suggest convergent adaptation in Neanderthals and modern humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 114 (47), 12442-12447.

Gibbons, A. (2013). How a fickle climate made us human.

Makinen, T. M. (2007). Human cold exposure, adaptation, and performance in high latitude environments. American Journal of Human Biology. The Official Journal of the Human Biology Association , 19 (2), 155-164.

Wells, J. C. (2002). Thermal environment and human birth weight. Journal of Theoretical Biology , 214 (3), 413-425.