A popular focus for evolutionary research has been the evolution of the human brain. Such research has sought to answer the questions of why our brains evolved to be as large as they are and how this increase in brain size came to be, given the massive energy requirements of neural tissue. Encephalization quotients refer to the size of the brain compared to the size of the body; as brain size increases and body size decreases, the encephalization quotient becomes larger. As would be expected, homo sapiens possess the largest encephalization quotient of all known species on Earth, being 6 times larger than the average mammal (Martin). The evolution of larger brains, which are more metabolically expensive, was made possible by a reduction in …show more content…
In order for a larger brain to be evolutionarily favorable, the net amount of required metabolic energy much remain relatively constant; this means that an energetic compromise must be made somewhere else in the body. The brain is not the only energetically expensive organ in the body; the liver, the heart, the kidneys, and the gastrointestinal tract together account for about 70% of the total metabolic requirements of the body (Aiello). To achieve the overall goal of keeping the body’s net energy requirements stable, a size increase of either the brain or one of the other expensive organs must be accommodated for by a reduction in the size of another. As this hypothesis suggests, a negative correlation between brain size and gastrointestinal tract size was found to be a regular occurrence across many species, including both endothermic and exothermic vertebrates (Aiello, Liao); in other words, as brain size increases, gut size decreases. This result was found to hold true even in Anurans, where 251 adult anuran males were also found to possess a “significant negative correlation between digestive tract length and brain mass” (Liao). In a comparison study between primates and humans, it was found that the amount of gut mass lost is energetically equivalent to the amount of brain mass
Talks, T. (2013, March 30). Genetically Evolved Technology: Luke Bawazer at TEDxWarwick 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BljY3_i3gfw
According to Ms. Witsaman, evolution is not the theory of how life began, which is a common misconception nowadays, but the theory of how life has changed over time. Theories are predictions which are backed up by several evidences and supported by scientists. The evidences that scientists use now to prove include fossils, homologous structures, analogous structures, vestigial structures, embryology, biogeography, and biochemicals. Fossils are the remains of living things that once roamed the Earth. Homologous structure are structures shared by different organisms that have similar structure but different functions. Analogous structures are the opposite, they have similar functions but completely different structure.Vestigial structures are
Complete the worksheet writing 100- to 200-word short answers for each question. Format your references consistent with APA guidelines.
Despite the evolutionary many benefits and gradient expenses with human intelligence, increased brain size did not occur because it was able to expand by itself. Environmental factors are what led to the evolutionary changes. A fundamental principle of evolutionary theory is that evolution is the balanced outcome between costs and benefits. Since the price of maintaining a large brain is greater, it is inherently improbably that expansion of the brain will evolve without a selection factor being adequate to overcome the high expenses. (Dunbar, 2007) There has been a strong correlation between increased temperatures in the global climate and increased endocranial volume. Over the past three million years, the average global temperature has been steadily increasing, as well as the braincase of human ancestors. Strong evidence of this is seen between the period approximately 200,000 to 800,000 years ago where the Earth’s climate experienced the greatest temperature fluctuations which
That meant that there were more calories available for larger brains, which of course was an evolutionary advantage. It also took much much less time to eat, leaving time to hunt, socialize and form tribes and communities, and procreate.
Another trait seen in primate evolution has been a more elaborate brain. In addition to brain size and gestation periods, the social organization also demonstrates and plays an important role in primate evolution due to its complexity and hierarchy. Brain evolution The fundamental explanation for the evolution of large relative brain size in early primates remains undetermined and disputed (Insel).
Define evolution? A slow change of something into better form. The word evolution means change, and the process of evolution reflects this definition as it applies to populations of organisms. Biological populations are groups of individuals of the same species that are sub-divided from other populations by geography and are somewhat independent of other groups. Biological evolution, then, is a change in the characteristics of a biological population that occurs over the course of generations. The changes in populations that are considered evolutionary are those that are inherited via genes. Changes that may take place in populations due only to short-term changes in their environment are not
Evolutionary biology has always interested me, specifically the mechanisms of natural selection and how species adapt to their environment. It started with my love for animals and nature when I was little. I spent my summers working with horses at a local corral, where I would ride around the surrounding wilderness areas. My favorite part about riding in the mountains was watching the change in plant and animal species as the elevation changed. It never ceased to amaze me how the alpine tree line was always so sudden. Humongous pine trees would give way to the short, shrubby plants of the alpine tundra so uniformly and noticeably. I have always wondered about the environmental conditions that cause species to distribute themselves in
This in turn allowed them to consider the context of differing abilities to cope with fluctuating resources, different variables, and overall paths in brain development between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs). Although Neanderthals did share similar brain sizes comparable to anatomically modern humans (AMHs), nevertheless Neanderthals brain cases were elongated and not globular as in Homo Sapiens implying that anatomically modern humans (AMHs) and Neanderthals reached fairly large brain sizes along dissimilar evolutionary paths. In their underlying research, they hypothesize that similarly sized brains of both Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans (AMHs) were ostensibly organized differently for two
For example would be us humans having a bigger brain then most animals. But our brains don’t grow any bigger than what they are supposed to be because it may be selected out during the process of birth, where giving birth might be a problem. Having a brain that is slightly bigger than most animals, humans are able to have the knowledge to be able to adapt well to the different types of variations of environments they face. If we were to be less knowledgeable, then we would slowly start to extinct. As mentioned in the video Becoming Humans: First step, they talk about how the human brain are slightly bigger than the apes but mainly of all, human brains have more space for the neocortex, our knowledge part of our brain, not like an ape who has less space for the neocortex, instead sharing most of its brain with the vision area. Knowing this tells how humans have a better chance of surviving and less likely to be selected out than an ape. Knowing this shows us how humans were able to survive for such a long
Firstly, it is important to understand the evolution and development of human brain. An interesting idea is that our human brains are becoming smaller in size through evolution of time. It is commonly believed that more content requires bigger space. Let 's take an example. A bowl that needs to fit ten identical objects needs to be bigger to a bowl that only needs to fit five identical objects. Likewise, our human brain has continued to develop through evolution and has much more complex capabilities as well as content to carry since the birth of our species in the Stone Age. Now
In this paper Carroll explores current applications of evolutionary biology on the real world, and continuese4 to look in to future prospective applications of evolutionary biology in the real world. Evolutionary biology is being used to look at the effects of modern environments on adaptations in organisms. There are many changes to modern environments that are just recently being studied. Carrol examines management approaches in ecosystems that are designed to improve adaptations or make certain once wanted adaptations obsolete. One of the common applications of evolutionary biology ideas is the preservation of habitats. Theses habitats are preserved to maintain their historical biology. While this is a great practice for preserving
There are a number of key points to her lecture, the initial being that brain size does not correspond to cognitive ability as is commonly believed. Brains vary in the way that they develop from species to species. Furthermore, the specific function of neurons in the brain is far more important than the general presence of neurons. For example, a dog may have many more neurons devoted to processing olfactory sensory information than we do, but this does little to make the dog more intelligent. For the sake of increasing overall cognitive function there are several distinct areas in the brain that would benefit most from additional neurons. More neurons in the pre-frontal lobe would allow a larger short-term memory and thereby a larger working memory which would allow for faster and more complex problem
An Oxford University research team looked at how 500 species, both living and fossilized, have evolved over about 60 million years. The ones that lived in social groups had much larger brains, relative to body size, than those species that tend to be self-sufficient.
They were full bipedal and their brain size and brain patterns evolved by increasing (590-687 cc). Their diet was mainly meat which might have an influence on their rapid growth of their brains. (Tobias 1987).