Topic 3 - Niche Construction & Mismatch Hypothesis Flashcards
What is niche construction?
Niche construction is when an organism changes its environment, to the point of altering selection pressures.
What are selection pressures?
Selection pressure are agent of mortality/fertility that make a population change genetically.
What is an example of niche construction?
Birds’ nest building.
What is the history of niche construction?
It was identified by Lewontin (1983). Odling-Smee (1988) coined the term and proposed NC as an evolutionary process + introduced ecological inheritance.
What is an example of ecological inheritance?
The bee hive. Inheritance is not only from genes, but also from the environment.
What is cultural niche construction?
It’s when a cultural trait influences the evolution or other cultural traits (culture-culture interaction, aka cultural evolution) or biological traits.
What are some example of cultural niche construction?
Dairy farming, bone structure, cooking food with fire.
What is the mismatch hypothesis?
it’s extreme niche construction: the environment has now been changed too much and we are not adapted to it.
What is mismatch in time?
It’s when the environment changes faster than the population can adapt (ex: diet).
What is mismatch in space?
It’s when organisms move from environments where they are adapted, to ones where they’re not (ex: migration, diseases).
What percentage of advantage gave mutation for lactose digestion?
5%.
Is lactose tolerance the same all over the world?
No. Only some populations (ie. Scandinavia) are 95-97% tolerant. Eastern Asia is 10%.
What are some modern problems that can be seen as the result of mismatch?
Obesity, populism, sedentary lifestyle.
