Adaption of a Species

Are We Really 99% Chimp? - YouTube
    The question, "If humans came from chimps, why are their still chimps?" has never crossed my mind. I will say this question sparked my own curiosity as I have never thought about why that is. Why did only certain species of chimps adapt into humans while the rest seemed to stay as themselves? I believe the answer to this question involves environmental adaption as well as genetic adaptations or mutations.

 I remember learning that we share about 97-98% of our DNA with chimpanzees. At that time, I had thought about how that could be remotely possible. Could it be possible that chimps and our early Hominin ancestors were able to breed? I say this because of the word polytypic, which is the ability to interact and breed biologically which then could result in morphological population differences within species. Or could it be chronospecies, which is when a species evolves into another overtime. I have found that environmental adaption could be a possibility due to species changing to fit their new environments. This would mean that when the chimpanzee species were leaving to new environments, their bodies would naturally adapt to fit the specific circumstances of their new environments. An example would be if they were to travel to the desert, their bodies would produce less hair so that they would not suffer from the heat. For any chance of survival, we all need food, water, and shelter. It makes sense that animals would go searching for those things within other environments. The species that decided to stay within the jungle or their natural environment did not have to adapt due to staying within that environment.  This is just one suggestion as to why chimps are still around as we are. 

Unit 6 - Change Over Time. Adapting to the Environment 15 ...

    It is crazy to think that we share that much DNA with a species that functions and acts completely different than us. This is because our DNA is able to switch off certain genes or functions that allow for diversity within species. It is crazy that our body is able to change our genes by just simply turning them off. Most of these switches occur with motor or brain functions. This could be a reason as to why chimps mental capability is drastically differently compared to humans, but not to the point where they are not able to learn and interact as humans do. 

   
     


Comments

  1. Marc KisselJune 12, 2020 at 8:28 AM

    wow, this is a great post and essay. You do very well on the topic and not only answer the question but also give a nuanced response. I like how you note that the DNA isn't just about 98% similar but also about what it turned on and off. looking at gene expression is certinyl really interesting here and something that we are beginning to see in the ancient DNA research too. I wonder if the 98% chimp story may change as we get better coverage and learn more about the epigenetics here...

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