Developmental homeostasis

Developmental homeostasis is a process in which animals develop more or less normally, despite defective genes and deficient environments.[1] It is an organism's ability to overcome certain circumstances in order to develop normally. This can be a circumstance that interferes with either a physical or mental trait. Many species have a specific norm, where those who fit that norm prosper while those who don't, don't survive or find it difficult to thrive. It is important that the animal be able to interact with the other group members effectively. Animals must learn their species' norms while they're young to live a normal, successful life for that species.

Developmental homeostasis determines how a species adapts to live a normal life. Therefore, it has been the focus of many experiments. These experiments are geared and designed to test the threshold for certain species to overcome and prosper despite certain circumstances.[2][3]

Due to the fact that survival of the species is based on the ability to interact with their own kind in a normal manner, these experiments—which usually interfere with that—walk a fine line for animal rights and what is acceptable. One experiment that researches mental development homeostasis used rhesus monkeys. These experiments showed how young monkeys need physical contact with other monkeys to learn the social behaviors and interact with each other effectively. One way physical developmental homeostasis was tested was in the facial symmetry experiment where people were asked to rate which of the faces they saw as better looking. This experiment resulted in the pictures with more symmetrical faces being called better looking. This is not just found in humans but other experiments such as the brush-legged wolf spider and the barn swallow birds. Favored traits give the bearer an advantage in attracting high quality mates.

In species that value developmental homeostasis, both physically and mentally, the ability of one to adapt to social norms seems to increase the likelihood of having a reproductive advantage at being able to attract mates and leave offspring.[1][4]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Alcock was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Sumpter, D.J.T. (2006). "The principles of collective animal behaviour". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 361 (1465): 5–22. doi:10.1098/rstb.2005.1733. PMC 1626537. PMID 16553306.
  3. ^ Galef, B.G. (January 2010). "Mammalian Social Learning: Non-Primates". pp. 370–374. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-045337-8.00061-9. ISBN 9780080453378. S2CID 83170876. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ Grether, G.F. (January 2010). "Sexual Selection and Speciation". pp. 177–183. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-045337-8.00183-2. ISBN 9780080453378. S2CID 83420990. {{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)