Ecotrophic Character of Primate Evolution.

It may have been PT Barnum or the designer of the Field of Dreams who said that if we build it, they will come. While they have been among the first to vocalize the concept, nature actually preempted them in its application. Whether we examine the fossil record or the depths of the sea, we find that nature accommodates whatever niche is afforded by geologic or climatic processes. Is there an environ too hostile for life? Presence not only of bacteria but also of higher forms (e.g., worms) at volcanic vents suggests the adaptablity and resiliance of life.

The fossil record clearly demonstrates that a new organism fairly rapidly replaces a life form that can no longer survive in a given niche, be it geographically, geologically or biologically-defined. The classic example is that of the various morphotypes of saber tooth tigers, whose extinction and reinvention repeatedly filled vacated niches four times in 28 million years. Intriguingly, preservation of morphotype was at the expense of genotype, with unrelated families (not even felidae) serially replacing those that went extinct. Was primate evolution similarily a form of ecotrophism?. (Read more)

Influence of captivity and domestication in animals

Domestication has been associated with paedomorphosis and alterations of sudden appearancesthat includes facial simplification and hypodermal fat accumulation. A protected environment reduces the need for skills and behaviour related to predator recognition, response anddefensive actions. Moreover, the captivity is also associated with increased life expectancy. Thus, the reason forosteoarthritis and sudden problems in animal’s musculoskeletal system occurs due to captivity and improper domestication of animals.

Do domestication and captivity have different implications or are they simply parts of a spectrum related to extraction from natural habitats? While the former is traditionally associated with “directed” character development through selected breeding, such approaches have permeated much of captive animal husbandry.