Assignment Code: BANC-106/ASST/TMA/2022-23

Course Code: BANC-106

Assignment Name: Human Ecology: Biological and Cultural Dimensions

Year: 2022-2023

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Read the instructions carefully and answer accordingly. There are three Sections in the Assignment. Answer all questions from all the sections.

Assignment – I

Answer the following in about 500 words each.

1. Define human ecology. Briefly comment on Acclimation and Acclimatization 20

Ans) The science that requires the least amount of time and effort to explain to a layperson is ecology. Many of the difficulties that people are currently facing in their daily lives are connected to ecology either directly or indirectly because they require an understanding of ecology to solve. These days, ecology has made a significant contribution to global social, economic, political, and other related policies. Ecology is frequently mentioned in social and economic works as well as in periodicals, weeklies, and daily newspapers. Ecology and biological sections of the plant and animal sciences are interdependent, but so are ecology and the physical and social sciences.

In fact, ecology is crucial to human welfare. Modern ecology is mostly a field study, and it is interested in how living things and their surroundings interact in practical ways. When attempting to define ecology in 1936, Taylor stated that "ecology is the science of all the interactions of all creatures to all of their environments," which is a pretty accurate statement of the field's scope. Agriculture (crop rotation, weed control, etc.), management of grasslands (range management), forestry, biological surveys, pest control, fisher biology, and soil, wildlife, forest, and water supply conservation are just a few of the areas in which ecology is significant. The global issue of environmental contamination also requires ecological support.

Acclimation

Physiological, anatomical, or morphological changes within a single organism that enhance performance or survival in response to environmental change are referred to as acclimation. The individual's genetics limits how much of this adaptation can occur. A genetic characteristic that enhances performance or survival over several generations is acquired or recombined as part of adaptation. An organism adapts to a change in its environment through a process called acclimation. The ability of living creatures to adapt to climatic changes is often discussed, and it typically happens quickly after the change.

When mammals or birds are held at low temperatures in a lab, their body temperatures first drop, but they soon display an increase in metabolic rate and oxygen use. The temperature change is directly correlated with this change. Increased food intake results from faster oxidation. Enzymes in the mitochondria, muscles, and liver increase. The fatty acid, glucose, and pentose pathways are activated. They quicken up. Increased thyroid and adrenal secretion. The boost in peripheral blood flow is crucial for maintaining skin warmth.

Acclimatization

Acclimatization is the term used to describe an organism's compensatory response to a change in the surrounding environment, in nature, or in a natural condition. Acclimatization refers to the process of adjusting to seasonal temperature variations. Because the latter adjustment is done under natural circumstances when the organism is exposed to the complete spectrum of shifting environmental influences, scientists distinguish between acclimation and acclimatisation. However, under laboratory circumstances, acclimation refers to a change in just one environmental element. Numerous physiological mechanisms interact during acclimatisation. Humans, for instance, increase their breathing rate when they begin to acclimate to high elevations. The blood's ability to carry oxygen has changed after roughly 40 hours, making it more effective in obtaining oxygen at high elevations. The respiratory rate then returns to normal as this happens.

2. Briefly describe adaptation to Infectious and Non-infectious diseases 20

Ans)

Infectious Diseases

Example

In the case of infectious diseases, it would seem crucial to take the proper precautions to allow for human adaptation while also using every available strategy to prevent the disease-causing organisms from adapting to their surroundings. The majority of public health initiatives that aim to stop the spread of illnesses fall under this heading. We have defeated scarlet fever through the use of such strategies. In this instance, the severity and virulence of the bacterium causing scarlet fever to appear to have dramatically decreased. Poliomyelitis, however, still exists and is not under control.

Climate and geographic variables frequently influence the way infectious diseases spread. It has been noted that the disease-causing organism is most likely to thrive in a particular range of temperature or humidity. It should be emphasised that the transmission of a disease from one person to another may require a specific intermediary host or vector. The anopheles mosquito transmits the sporozoa parasite that causes malaria. For this mosquito to reproduce, stagnant water and a warm environment are essential. As a result, by implementing effective anti-mosquito measures in Europe and many other regions of the world, the disease has been completely eradicated. However, there are still many pockets of the world where malaria is endemic. Therefore, it is essential to alter the environment that supports the vector while also launching a direct offensive against the responsible species. The use of the proper chemicals or medications can accomplish this.

Non-infectious Diseases

When attempting to explain regional variation in non-infectious disorders, the entire set of environmental influences and biological responses (both inborn and acquired) must always be taken into account. Both lack of acclimatisation and genetic vulnerability may play a role in the fact that Africans are more prone to frost bite than Eskimos or North American Indians. Carter (1969) demonstrated from family and ethnic studies that spina-bifida and anencephaly, two central nervous system malformations whose exact aetiology is unknown, involve genetic factors, social class, birth order, and maternal age effects, as well as secular seasonal variation, suggest that environmental factors are also important in their causation.

It has been discovered that striking racial disparities in the incidence of heart disease are related to a diet heavy in fat. In South Africa, the difference in fat consumption between Europeans and Bantu peoples, which reflects economic level, is mirrored by the Bantu people's lower risk of cardiovascular illnesses. It's interesting to note that, despite certain drawbacks, the low-fat, low-calorie diet of the majority of Africans appears to have favoured a very low incidence of diabetes mellitus. Due to long-term changes in nutrition and lifestyle, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and obesity, as well as their co-morbid conditions like hypertension and type 2 diabetes, are on the rise throughout Africa, especially in North Africa and metropolitan areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Diabetes and cancer have both been linked to low vitamin D levels. Adults who are obese have been reported to have low serum 25OHD, which may be caused by vitamin D being sequestered in subcutaneous fat and having a lowered bioavailability as a result.

Assignment – II

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each.

3. Write a brief note on Mortality 10

Ans) The population's deaths are measured by mortality. It is essentially natality's polar opposite. In terms of human demography, mortality is the same as death rate. such as natality. Deaths per unit time is one way to represent mortality. Another way is to express it as a specific rate in terms of units of the overall population or any subset of it. Similar to natality, mortality could be

Ecological or Realised Mortality

It is the real loss of people under a certain environmental circumstance. Like ecological natality, it is not a constant and changes in response to changes in the population and the environment. Similar to natality, mortality can be stated as the number of people who pass away in a certain time period (deaths per time) or as a specific rate expressed in terms of units of the entire population or any subset thereof. Vital index is the ratio of births to deaths (100 x births / deaths).

Minimum Mortality

The constant for a population, a theoretical minimum mortality represents the smallest loss under perfect or non-limiting circumstances. Even in ideal circumstances, people would pass away from "old age," as judged by their physiological longevity. which, of course, is frequently far longer than the ecological longevity on average.

Which individuals of a population survive is more significant than which members perish. As a result, survival rates are significantly more interesting than mortality rates. The survival rate is 1-M if the death rate is given as a fraction (M). Typically, survivorship curves are used to express survival rates. Some large creatures, including primates and humans, exhibit a convex pattern. While many plants and insects tend to have 1o concave patterns, certain rodents and birds have approximately diagonal curves. In various environments, the same species' chances of surviving can vary.

4. Adaptation to Agricultural Society 10

Ans) Any community whose economy is focused on growing and maintaining crops and farmland is considered an agrarian society, often known as an agricultural society. The principal source of wealth in an agrarian culture is farming. Agrarian communities have been and are still present in many regions of the earth as far back as 10,000 years ago. Hunter-gatherer and horticultural communities existed before agrarian civilisation, which later gave way to industrial society (Johnson, 2000). Compared to hunting and gathering, agriculture provides for a significantly higher population density and the accumulation of surplus goods that can be stored for the winter or sold for a profit. The key driver of excess, specialisation, advanced technology, hierarchical social structures, inequality, and standing armies was the ability of farmers to feed vast populations of people whose activities have little to do with the production of physical goods.

Early Agricultural Societies

From Iran to Anatolia and the Levant, as well as in China's semiarid loess plains and humid Yangtze valley, the Old World saw the development of established life on the higher land. The alluviums of the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris rivers, on the other hand, saw the development of the oldest civilizations built on sophisticated and prolific agriculture. In the later part of the 7th millennium BP, the Euphrates valley was home to towns and villages (https://www.britannica.com/topic/agriculture/Early-agricultural-societies).

The Spread

The Neolithic Revolution, also known as the agricultural revolution, has occurred independently numerous times. Between 10,000 and 8,000 years ago, in the Fertile Crescent region of the Middle East, humans began to practise agriculture and horticulture as means of subsistence. Aside from the Fertile Crescent, where agriculture first appeared, it also appeared by at least 6,800 BCE in East Asia (rice) and later in Central and South America (maize and squash). Additionally, it is likely that small-scale agriculture emerged independently in early Neolithic settings in Southeast Asia (taro) and India (Johnson, 2000).

Answer the following questions in about 125 words each.

5. Bergmann’s rule 5

Ans) Carl Bergmann, a German biologist, is the name given to the Bergmann rule. He discussed the variations in organism physiology according to the climatic conditions in which they lived in 1847. According to this rule, the body size of different homeothermic species decreases as the habitat's average temperature rises. Animals that are adapted to the cold typically have large bodies because, of two animals with the same shape, the larger one has less surface area for heat dissipation relative to its mass. When compared to animals from warmer climates, the ratio of surface area to volume is typically lower in endothermic birds and mammals living in cold climates. Examples of this trait include the fact that polar bears are larger than spectacled bears that live close to the equator and that Galapagos Island penguins are smaller than their counterparts in the Arctic.

6. Cultural Ecology 5

Ans) In the middle of the 20th century, an approach called cultural ecology that was based on Darwin's theory of biological evolution challenged the notions of environmental determinism. The neo-evolutionists Julian Steward, Leslie A. White, and Gordon Childe first proposed the concept of multilinear cultural evolution. Childe described how migration-related technological and societal "diffusion" causes cultures to change over time. But this idea of evolution supports the superiority of the Western developmental norm, evoking "ethnocentrism," or assessing a culture in light of the standards and norms of another culture. White and Steward, two multilinear evolutionists, were in charge of creating a body of work in the field of cultural ecology using an evolutionary model that was distinct from earlier theories. White's model was based on people's capacity to use technology to harness resources and measure energy consumption.

Assignment – III

7. Write a note on Fieldwork 10

Ans) The process of observing and gathering information about people, cultures, and natural environments is known as field work. Instead of being done in the somewhat controlled environments of a lab or classroom, field work is done in the natural settings that make up our daily lives. This enables researchers to compile information about the shifting environments, inhabitants, and local wildlife. Students and researchers can examine how scientific theories interact with reality through fieldwork.

Both the social and natural sciences value fieldwork. The study of people, culture, and society is the focus of social sciences like economics and history. Natural sciences like biology and chemistry concentrate on the physical properties of nature and natural settings.

Most anthropologists agree that one of the founding fathers of British anthropology, Bronislaw Malinowski, is responsible for the introduction of fieldwork into the practise of social anthropology. Malinowski promoted going "into the field," which meant residing with the people he was studying, participating in their community, learning their language, eating their food, and going about daily life as they did. This was in contrast to the "armchair anthropologists" who came before him.

Since Malinowski's time, fieldwork—typically performed outside of one's own society—has been valued as a crucial and necessary component of an anthropologist's academic preparation. Fieldwork that lasts for a long time—typically 1-2 years—has been considered unique to social anthropology and a feature that sets it apart from other social sciences. Even in modern times, some anthropologists still believe that conducting fieldwork in the classic Malinowski and sense is a crucial and distinctive component of anthropological inquiry. Others believe that anthropologists can gain a deep understanding of a community using a variety of techniques in a variety of settings, including fieldwork. In addition to the more conventional "remote" settings, fieldwork is increasingly done in extremely modern ones.

8. Briefly comment on data analysis, interpretation, and report writing 20

Ans)

Data Analysis

Data analysis is the methodical use of statistical and logical techniques to specify the range of the data, modularize the data structure, condense the data representation, illustrate with pictures, tables, and graphs, and evaluate statistical inclinations, probability data, and derive meaningful conclusions. By removing the extra chaos that the rest of the data's analysis would have produced, these analytical techniques allow us to infer the underlying inference from the data. Data analysis is a continuous, iterative process where data collection and analysis are done simultaneously because data generation is a continuous process. One of the key elements of data analysis is ensuring data integrity.

Transportation, risk and fraud detection, customer interaction, city planning, healthcare, web search, digital advertising, and other areas are just a few examples of the many uses for data analysis. Data analysis enables monitoring of machine and data usage in such scenarios to achieve efficiency gain. Taking the example of healthcare, as we have recently observed that with the pandemic outbreak, Coronavirus hospitals are facing the challenge of coping up with the pressure in treating as many patients as possible.

Data Interpretation

The researcher can comprehend the overarching principle that underlies his findings only through interpretation. By doing so, he can compare his results to those of other studies that used the same general theoretical framework and make predictions about the course of events in the real world. Later, new inquiries can test these hypotheses. The continuity of the research can be preserved in this way.

Interpretation results in the development of explanatory concepts that can act as a roadmap for additional research studies; it also opens up new vistas for intellectual exploration and inspires the pursuit of knowledge. Only through interpretation will a researcher be able to fully comprehend why his findings are what they are and convey to others the true significance of his findings. The translation of exploratory research into experimental research involves interpretation because the findings of exploratory research studies frequently lead to hypotheses for experimental research studies.

Report Writing

A report is a written summary of an occasion, problem, or subject. A report is never a made-up tale. The purpose of writing a report is to inform the audience about a specific subject or concept. A report, however, is not specifically defined. A report is any speech—verbal or written—covering a specific subject. A report could be a kid's book report, or a confession made in court. But generally speaking, a report is more of an official document that presents the details of a subject and is usually written by experts. There must be sufficient evidence to back up the information about the topic or event. As the information is read by various readers, it must be factually accurate. An informative tone, not an opinionated one, must be used when writing reports.