Short stature in rainforest hunter-gatherers may be linked to cardiac adaptation
Short stature in rainforest hunter-gatherers may be linked to cardiac adaptation
A'ndrea Elyse Messer
November 07, 2018
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — African and Asian rainforest hunter-gatherers share short stature, and now an international team of researchers has shown that this is an example of convergent adaptation that may also be linked to changes in cardiac development pathways.
"We know that rainforest populations become small," said Christina M. Bergey, postdoctoral fellow in anthropology. "The question is did evolution take the same path each time humans got small?"
In adapting to an environment, organisms theoretically have a variety of ways they can change to become more in tune with their surroundings. Often, however, completely separate populations adapt to a similar environment in the same way. This similar but separate path is convergent adaptation.
Small-stature populations, averaging 5 foot in height, exist in the rainforests of Africa, Asia, South America and historically Australia. Why humans in rainforests evolved to have small stature is still up for debate. According to Bergey, there are a variety of suggested reasons, but one in particular has plausibility.
More:
https://news.psu.edu/story/546564/2018/11/07/research/short-stature-rainforest-hunter-gatherers-may-be-linked-cardiac