https://youtu.be/DlG2E-4yp24
In this video, about the evolution of human brains, we learn that most of this can be traced to genes present in other monkeys as well as us but our copies are broken or inhibited from being expressed.
Primate specific retrotransposons are used in human gene regulation and they make up 11% of our DNA - https://www.cell.com/trends/cell-biology/pdf/S0962-8924(17)30002-8.pdf
Even worse yet, one gene that is related to tail growth and absorption has 96% amino acid similarity to those found in mice. Wnt3A that usually accounts for the reabsorption (apoptosis) of the tail can even be fully functional but due to gene regulation cause the same effect that most humans and other apes are left with: http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/10/3/313.full.pdf Remember itβs the same gene, but typically mice keep their tails, while we and other apes usually donβt.
Hi everyone! I am Christian Rivera, a PhD student at UF.
I integrate methods in ecology and anthropology to study wildlife exploitation issues (hunting and trade), social-ecological system dynamics, and the conservation of biological and cultural (biocultural) diversity. Previous work includes research on the hunting of white-lipped peccaries in Costa Rica, exploitation of endangered mammals in the U.S., community-based forestry in Thailand and Laos, analysis of biocultural indicators, and management and trade of freshwater turtles in the Peruvian Amazon.
60% of the world's primate species are threatened by exploitation. My current research deals with understanding the biological characteristics of primates (and other vertebrates) and the human social factors that make primate species and populations vulnerable to hunting and trade, and the complex interactions between these factors in local settings and across distances. Examples of biological characteristics include body size, habitat fidelity, and defensive behavior, while human social factors may include traditional practices, commercial trade, and trade links between countries. An example of a complex distant interaction is how deforestation in a distant forest impacts the types of species sold at live animal markets in urban settings. By understanding the relationships and feedbacks between these factors across scales, we can inform more effective management of hunting and trade systems that use a more holistic approach towards conservation and sustainable use.
This summer, I will travel to the Peruvian Amazon and the increasingly urbanizing Peru-Colombia-Brazil Amazon tri-border to conduct research on the hunting and trade of wildlife across heterogeneous cultural and ecological landscapes, with a focus on the exploitation of primates. I will seek to understand which wildlife populations, species, people, and institutions at the tri-border are involved and impacted by wildlife exploitation, and the underlying socio-cultural and environmental drivers that lead to hunting and trade of wildlife in the region.
Other projects and topics I'm currently working on include mapping the overlap between primate species diversity and human cultural diversity across the world (using language diversity as a proxy for cultural diversity); human-wildlife relationships inside live animal and wild meat markets; understanding how university campuses are used as "living laboratories" for sustainability problem solv
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What is the strongest species of primate in the world? Is it the Silverback Gorilla, or a different species?
