Human Variation and Race: High Altitude

High altitude can be very dangerous for people who have not been exposed to that type of environment by their ancestors or for many years.  High altitude causes hypoxia in many people because of the lack of oxygen one is able to intake.  As the altitude rises, the air pressure decreases which makes it hard to breath at higher altitudes.  Hypoxia is one negative factor that this environmental stress can have on people, but it is possible to acclimatize to the environment physiologically.

A short-term adaptation to high altitude would be "high altitude sickness".  This is a short-term adaptation because the sickness eventually goes away, once the body has made it's self more acclimated.  The symptoms do not come back when the person who suffers "high altitude sickness" returns to their normal environment.

One facultative adaptation of high altitude is enhanced fitness.  This adaptation is considered facultative because the body becomes physically acclimated to the diminished air pressure through the genes which changes their hemoglobin level and provides them with normal fitness level at high altitude.  This normal fitness level at high altitude is due to enhanced oxygen in the blood stream created by the raised hemoglobin giving the person enhanced-fitness when they return to their normal environment.

Developmental adaptation is one that effects a gene in a persons DNA because the stressor has caused such a great impact one generation after generation it has become apart of the gene pool.  For example in high altitude, or those with ancestors who are from high altitudes will have very rosy cheeks because they can create more hemoglobin due to a change in their DNA.  The higher amount of hemoglobin changes the phenotype they present.  Due to the lack of air pressure and oxygen at high altitudes, people's hemoglobin level will rise trying to create more oxygen for that person which will cause their cheeks to be red resulting in a developmental change over quite a long period.

Cultural adaptation is very important in all types of environmental stressors.  One interesting cultural adaption to high altitude is the chanting and deep breathing of Buddhist monks.  The chanting and deep breathing helped the Nepalese increase oxygen flow to decrease the risk of hypoxia.

The main benefit of studying human variation from this prespective is realizing that race does not exist.  Humans are all made of the somethings whether it is believed to be true or not, the only variation there is are the type of phenotypes that one presents.  Information from explorations like this can be helpful to the continuation of the theory of evolution as well as to helping American culture be more accepting of others.  This exploration shows that there is truly no race or difference between the make up of humans, it shows that environmental changes are the reason for different pigments in skin color.  Like the high mountain valley indians and their "red" skin, it is caused by their environmental stressors.

Personally, I would not use race to understand the adaptations I explained.  Race has nothing to do with how a persons body adapts to an environment or stressors in that environment.  Race is a made up term in the United States that has caused hostility between all peoples for absolutely no reason.  The term "race" just goes to show how ignorant the founding fathers of the United States were because skin color is a genetic adaptation, it is not WHO a person is.  The study of environmental stressors and adaptations is a beautiful way to learn more about why and how there is variation among skin color around the world because it gives a person a chance to have an open scientific view which will result in them having an open heart and not believing in "race".