|
|
Re: Homo sapiens and changing niches
JOHN LANGDON (LANGDON@GANDLF.UINDY.EDU)
Wed, 2 Feb 1994 08:28:27 -0500
In message Janette Wilson writes:
> Is Homo sapiens the only species to change niches? What of primates who get
> up
> in trees and change position thus providing color flash change to warn the
> rest of the group that humans are about to enter the human field of crop so
> that the group can scatter and reenter after the humans leave again? What of
> chimps who hunt other chimps (as other conditions in their environment
> changed)
A niche cannot be defined by minute to minute or hour to hour changes in
microhabitat. An ecologist would define a niche as the summation of all
interactions between a species and its environment. By this definition, I
question whether humans can change niches. They can only broaden their niche,
primarily through material culture. As for those species who change their
behavior or resource exploitation in response to environmental changes, we must
ask whether this is (1) a true change in niche due to an irreversible
environment change; (2) a broadening of the niche, in which the species adds a
genuinely novel behavior to its repertoire; or (3) a rarely utilized part of its
present niche that humans simply had not observed before.
JOHN H. LANGDON email LANGDON@GANDLF.UINDY.EDU
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY FAX (317) 788-3569
UNIVERSITY OF INDIANAPOLIS PHONE (317) 788-3447
INDIANAPOLIS, IN 46227
|