Re: Evolutionary interplay of caution and boldness in populations
- From: "JoeSP" <olegp@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 23:22:59 -0500 (EST)
<stargene@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dll6at$1qo3$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>A recent study in the journal Cell, by Gleb Shumyatsky and others,
> indicates that the difference between "normally cautious mice" and
> "bold mice" is one gene, which governs the protein stathmin in the
> amygdala. The ramifications for drug and even gene therapy are
> obvious, yet it seems to me that a larger and more complex issue
> may loom in the wings here:
We see in nature that rapid adaptive change (single-gene) with regard to
fear is sometimes an evolutionary advantage. For example, the peregrin
falcon was facing extinction due to it's high degree of timidity towards
humans. I recall a park ranger discovering a peregrin falcon nest in a
remote region of a park, and having visited it once, the parents abandoned
the nest forever, never coming back to it.
This extreme timidity trait had survival advantages for the peregrin in
earlier times when they were often captured or shot on sight by humans.
Fleeing from humans to unsettled areas kept its populations alive and
viable.
Recently, in the last 50 years or so, the numbers of peregrins had been on a
serious decline, (aside from DDT) chiefly because they had difficulty
finding secluded spots in which to breed and raise offspring. Unsettled
areas, devoid of humans were becoming fewer and far between.
Now we are seeing peregrins beginning to colonize in cities. A new niche
has opened up for them in an environment which offers better opportunities
for both food and nesting locations. Needless to say humans have changed
their behavior in the last 30 years and no longer shoot them on sight. It
appears that these new city-colonizers do not appear to have the same high
degree of timidity as in the recent past.
Such a rapid adaptive change, allowing them to occupy new opportunities in a
new environment was likely made possible by the fact that their timidity is
controlled by a single gene, or small number of genes. So, in that context,
it's not surprising that similar such behaviors are controlled by a single
gene, which could allow them to adapt more quickly to changing environments.
.
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