Heredity and Environment

By Moira Whitehouse PhD

Heredity and Environment

What makes you

Heredity and Environment

What makes you

who you are?

Heredity explains how physical traits andinstincts are passed from parents to offspring.

Heredity explains how physical traits andinstincts are passed from parents to offspring.

•Physical traits-- determine whether the offspring is a person, a bean plant , a pig or a cat (and what color cat)

•Instincts – determine behaviors that the offspring is born knowing. (a kitten meows, a puppy barks).

Heredity explains how physical traits andinstincts are passed from parents to offspring.

•Physical traits-- determine whether the offspring is a person, a bean plant , a pig or a cat (and what color cat)

First let’s look at physical traits that are passed from parent to offspring.

Free photos of the the dogs and puppies courtesy of http://www.freewebs.com/moonshinebabies/apps/photos/

The poodle mother and cocker spaniel father in the photos are the parents of the cookapoo puppies shown below.Notice that the puppies have physical traits of both parents—heredity at work.

First let’s look at physical traits that are passed from parent to offspring.

Next we will look at instincts, the behaviors that are passed from parent to offspring.

Animals not only inherit physical traits from their parents, they also inherit behaviors. An inherited behavior is called an instinct. The animal is born knowing this, it does not have to learn.

In the following video we see a giraffe within minutes of being born. The newborn demonstrates two instincts. First it stands after a few prods from its mother and then it steps to its mother’s milk and start nursing.

Animals not only inherit physical traits from their parents, they also inherit behaviors. An inherited behavior is called an instinct. The animal is born knowing this, it does not have to learn.

http://www.arkive.org/giraffe/giraffa-camelopardalis/video-09c.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Female giraffe cleaning newborn, newborn standing and suckling for first time" ><img src="http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/16/162A26C4-6438-4835-A920-A86CD66B9EFB/Presentation.Portlet/Female-giraffe-cleaning-newborn-newborn-standing-and-suckling-for-first-time.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Female giraffe cleaning newborn, newborn standing and suckling for first time" title="ARKive video - Female giraffe cleaning newborn, newborn standing and suckling for first time" border="0"/></a>

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

Select this URL to open a video of a female giraffe cleaning newborn before it stands and suckling for first time. Then select full screen.

Those of you who may have a baby brother or sister probably know that this isn’t the way it works with newborns.

Those of you who may have a baby brother or sister probably know that this isn’t the way it works with newborn.

For our babies to learn to stand and walk it takes months or years in an environment where they are encouraged.

Those of you who may have a baby brother or sister probably know that this isn’t the way it works with newborn.

For our babies to learn to stand and walk it takes months or years in an environment where they are encouraged.

It is our environment that determines what we learn.

Those of you who may have a baby brother or sister probably know that this isn’t the way it works with newborn people.

For our babies to learn to stand and walk it takes months or years in a supportive environment.

It is the environment that determines what we learn.

What is this thing called the environment?

Environment includes all things, living and nonliving, that surround an organism.

Environment includes all things, living and nonliving, that surround an organism.

•Inherited traits and the behaviors of living things are affected by the environment in which they live.

Environment includes all things, living and nonliving, that surround an organism.

•Inherited traits and the behaviors of living things are affected by the environment in which they live.

Now get that……it is really big…….really important

Environment includes all things, living and nonliving, that surround an organism.

•Inherited traits and the behaviors of living things are affected by the environment in which they live.

• For the puppies we saw earlier, their environment would include their parents, owners, kennel, other dogs in the kennel, the food they eat and so forth.

In the following few slides we will see how their environment affected the physical traits and behavior of different animals.

In the following few slides we will see how their environment affected the physical traits and behavior of different animals.

When a physical trait is changed by the environment it is called an acquired trait.

For example, the zebra on the right has survived a lion attack which left its rump scarred. The scar is an acquired trait since the zebra received it through its interaction with its environment (the lion attack).

Bocavermehlha-l.b. http://www.flickr.com/

In another example, we see two boxer dogs from the same litter; they are sisters yet their ears are very different. Both were born with rounded floppy ears. However, the seated boxer’s ears now point straight up. Her ears were trimmed when she was a puppy. Her sister’s ears were not. An inherited physical trait has been changed.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia commons Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

Notice the dogs’ ears. The standing boxer’s ears are rounded and floppy. The seated boxer’s ears are pointed. Both dogs inherited rounded ears, but their owners (the environment) changed the ears of the seated dog.

The pointed ears are called an acquired trait, a trait that was changed by the environment.

The environment also affects wild animal’s physical traits and behaviors. The picture on the left shows an elephant with only one tusk. He lost the other in a fight. He naturally had two tusks. Having only one tusk is an acquired trait—he got it from his environment.Photo courtesy of http://www.arkive.org/

In the next few slides we will see how their environment affected the the behavior of different animals.

In the next few slides we will see how their environment affected the the behavior of different animals.

When behavior is changed by the environment it is called a learned behavior.

Working dogs provide a good example of behavior being changed by the environment. Dogs can be taught to do many things such as coming when called, rolling over on command or guiding people as a seeing eye dog. These are all learned behaviors—not instincts. The dogs’ environment caused these behaviors.

http://english.cri.cn/ photo:Beijing Youth Daily

There are many examples of wild animals acquiring behaviors from their environment. These are learned behaviors.

There are many examples of wild animals acquiring behaviors from their environment. These are learned behaviors.

• Elephants are not born knowing how to defend their territory by chasing animals away, they learn by imitating older elephants..

There are many examples of wild animals acquiring behaviors from their environment. These are learned behaviors.

• Elephants are not born knowing how to defend their territory by chasing

animals away, they learn by imitating older elephants.

• This video shows a very clear example.

This somewhat cumbersome step is necessary because I am placing this slide show on SlideShare. For classroom use Arkive gives permission to download the video clip and place it directly in your slide show.

http://www.arkive.org/forest-elephant/loxodonta-cyclotis/video-11.html#src=portletV3web" title="ARKive video - Forest elephants chasing buffalo" ><img src="http://cdn1.arkive.org/media/40/40F28A32-A4DE-46EB-BB83-6BFA6E4EC0A6/Presentation.Portlet/Forest-elephants-chasing-buffalo.jpg" alt="ARKive video - Forest elephants chasing buffalo" title="ARKive video - Forest elephants chasing buffalo" border="0"/></a>

Select this URL to open a video of a young elephant mimicking his mother as he chases the buffalo. Then select full screen.

Next we have an example of an animal’s natural behavior being used to encourage learning a new behavior.

Scientists are not sure why dolphins in the wild jump.• Some think it is to save energy while traveling.•Some think it is to see and locate food.•Some think it is to communicate with other dolphins.•Some think it is for fun.

PHOTO A is of dolphins jumping out in the open ocean.

PHOTO A chatallot http://www.flickr.com/

PHOTO B is a dolphin in captivity jumping through a hoop.

PHOTO B

http://arabic.wunderground.com/

chatallot http://www.flickr.com/

http://arabic.wunderground.com/

PHOTO A

PHOTO B

•Which photo, photo A or photo B, shows an instinct--a behavior that the dolphin inherited? •Which photo shows a behavior that the dolphin learned from its environment?

Although dolphins jump naturally, they learn to jump through a hoop. An animal trainer teaches the dolphin to do this by rewarding it with a fish when it does the desired behavior.

http://arabic.wunderground.com/

A very interesting example of what a learning environment can produce with a wild animal is in this video of a chimpanzee. First the chimp learned to recognize the numbers 1 through 9 and then to put them in order. On the computer screen it sees the nine numbers. After less than a second the numbers are replaced by a white block. Amazingly the chimp remembers the position of each number and orders them from 1 to 9.

To better understand the ideas of acquired traits and learned behavior let’s think about humans.

To better understand the ideas of acquired traits and learned behavior let’s think about humans.

•First, acquired traits and learned behavior are the result of the environment.

•A person’s environment includes all those people and things around them. Your environment includes the following things:

To better understand the ideas of acquired traits and learned behavior let’s think about humans.

•First, acquired traits and learned behavior are the result of the environment.

http://www.school-clip-art.com/Free clip art courtesy of:

•your school—your teachers, your books, your computers, your art and music class, etc.

•other children, in particular, your classmates and friends.

A website of public domain cliparthttp://www.wpclipart.com/

Free clip art courtesy of:

•the things you do for fun

A website of public domain cliparthttp://www.wpclipart.com/

•your parents and

grandparents

A website of public domain cliparthttp://www.wpclipart.com/

•your food

A website of public domain cliparthttp://www.wpclipart.com/

•your pets

.

A website of public domain cliparthttp://www.wpclipart.com/

A person’s physical traits can be changed by his or her environment.

Ajpscs http://www.flickr.com

None of these young ladies were born with red, blue, yellow or purple hair. Someone dyed their hair these wild colors. Their new hair color is the result of their environment—an acquired trait.

This man naturally had his front teeth—an inherited physical trait.

By Dalyce Burgess http://www.photodalyce.com

Now he is missing his two front teeth—an acquired trait. What do you think happened in his environment that caused him to lose his teeth?

This young man’s BIG muscles are an acquired trait. He was not born with such a developed body.

By Dalyce Burgess http://www.photodalyce.com

He acquired these muscles from his environment. How do you think he acquired them?

Jonfeinstein http://www.flickr.com/

Do you suppose he did a lot of this?

A person’s environment can also change his or her behavior. We all learn to do many new things.

Free picture of newborn crying http://www.best-of-web.com/pages/070929-222922.html

Babies are born knowing a few behaviors such as crying when uncomfortable, moving their arms and legs and sleeping. These are inherited. However, they quickly begin to learn many new ones from their environment.

http://photohome.com/free-pictures.html

They learn to:

find their toes

crawl

sit

drink with a cup

ride a tricycle

count on their fingersA website of public domain clipart

http://www.wpclipart.com/

Later a child learns many other new skills.

•Some they learn through trial and error—trying something over and over again until they succeed.

Photo by Ski Lieske

Most behaviors children learn from others.

emily-grace http://www.flickr.com/

•Sometimes they learn behaviors through imitating others.

Marius!! http://www.flickr.com/

•Sometimes those behaviors are taught. A school teacher, a parent or another child or adult may be the teacher.

To summarize:

•All living things are born with certain physical traits.

•All living things are born with certain physical traits.

•These physical traits are inherited.

•All living things are born with certain physical traits.

•These physical traits are inherited.

•If a physical trait is changed by its environment, it is called an acquired trait.

•All living things are born with instincts (behaviors they inherit from their parents).

.

•All living things are born with instincts (behaviors they inherit from their parents).

•Simpler animals such as insects, spiders, frogs, toads, lizards and snakes have many instincts.

•All living things are born with instincts (behaviors they inherit from their parents).

•Simpler animals such as insects, spiders, frogs, toads, lizards and snakes have many instincts.

•More complex animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas and humans are born with fewer instincts.

The behavior of these more complex animals changes a lot during their lifetime.

The behavior of these more complex animals changes a lot during their lifetime.

They learn many new behaviors from their environment. They may learn these skills through trial and error, imitation or by being taught.

Thanks to Tetsuro Matsuzawa Director, PRI, Kyoto University, Japan for permission to use the video of the chimpanzee.

Thanks to ARKive Education (a UK- based charity and a free-to-use, multi-media resource for teachers and other educators) for the videos of the elephants and the mother giraffe and baby.

Thanks to the English Service China Radio International for permission to use photo of the seeing-eye dog.