Reference no: EM133545535

Questions:

How well did they describe their second adaptation as necessary for human adaptation to marine living?

How many adaptions did they use?

Were you convinced that this adaptation would be necessary for the evolution of human mermaids? Why or why not? Was it similar to any of your proposed adaptations?

What does their evolved human mermaid look like? Did their description of what human mermaids that evolved by natural seleciton would look like fit with their proposed adaptations? How well did they describe them?

Describe the similarities and/or differences between their evolved mermaids vs. the stereotypical half-human half-fish folklore mermaid.

One necessary adaptation for a mermaid would be a blowhole. A blowhole is commonly found on cetaceans, whales dolphins, and porpoises. My mermaid would need a blowhole in order to oxygenate themself. It would be found on the nape of the neck so that the mermaid would be able to breach the surface while remaining partly underwater. Another adaptation that would be necessary in order for this to work would be expanded lungs that could hold enough air to stay underwater for prolonged periods of time.

Another necessary adaptation would be webbed appendages. These webbed appendages are most commonly found in the ocean in pinnipeds, which are seals, sea lions, and walruses. These webbed appendages would be necessary for the mermaid in order for it to move through the water efficiently, compared to the commonly seen fishtail in portrayals of mermaids. Having webbed hands and feet would drastically increase our mobility underwater. A smaller adaptation that would have to coincide with this would involve a much larger amount of blood in the body as well as a much lower base heart rate.

One final adaptation would be for the organism to have piezolytes. These organic molecules can be found in large crustaceous amphibians deep in the ocean, as well as the Mariana snailfish. These molecules allow the organism to travel to high-pressure environments, with no fear of being crushed. They would protect both our cellular membranes and our proteins, which would both need to be protected if my mermaid wanted to be able to traverse the entire ocean with no hitches.

A mermaid that actually underwent the process of natural selection would have several adaptations in order for it to survive. The body of the mermaid would have to be much more hydrodynamic, in order to efficiently travel underwater, giving it a much slicker and compressed appearance. The mermaid would also lack many human features such as ears, nose, and hair. Instead, the nose would be pressed against the face of the mermaid, and hair would be substituted for blubber in order to keep the mermaid warm underwater. The limbs of a human would also slowly adapt into flippers in order to travel underwater. A final change to mermaids would lie in their reproductive system, which would most likely retract internally in order to protect the genitalia from the harsh conditions of the sea.