Ecolog:
Well, the first thing we've (scientists and other intellectually-disciplined
humans) gotta do is stop referring to non-human animals as "animals" as if
they not just other species and refer to them as "other animals" or
"non-human animals." This is a bad habit that perpetuates a popular fiction
(that humans are not animals), retarding the development of popular
understanding of reality. (I still catch myself making this error, but I am
working on checking and eliminating it.) That (leading by example?) has got
to be one of the major motivations of science it the first place.
Then we've gotta pay close attention to what the original poster is really
saying (interpret him correctly and fully).
True, animals under the influence of culture like humans can become obese
from dietary choices, body chemistry (including, but not limited to, the
slings and arrows of outrageous Big Pharma), and lifestyle (luxury
consumption).
Luxury consumption, for example, occurs in other animals "in the wild," that
not only produces higher body weights in some individuals (genetics enter
here?), but increase fecundity, sometimes to the point of population
explosions and boom/bust vacillations, but those phenomena, lacking direct
cultural interference with evolution, are self-regulating (think
mouse-plagues caused by farming and other influences like predator
"control"), as are the ripple-effects that they cause to the related parts
of the systems of which they are a part.
But Skylar's bottom-line question remain legitimate and unanswered: "I am
curious if these kinds of compounds, which must be leaked into certain
systems, at the very least, have the same kind of "obesogen" effect on
ecosystems outside an urban center. I'd love to hear what any of you think
about the matter." His distinction is crucial! Read ALL of his post.
I hope that his question will be fully addressed and that some kind of
provisional answer will be unequivocally provided to him and Ecolog.
Certainly 18,000 ecologists must be "right" about something!
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wendee Nicole" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, July 15, 2013 8:31 PM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Obesity study of animals?
Well that's fine, but at least read the info about obesogens and their
mechanism of action (it is legit and there's substantial data about the
hypothesis, in humans at least) before discounting that possibility (that
endocrine disrupting chemicals are altering the epigenome, creating a
generational impact on metabolism, among other mechanisms of action)
Wendee
Wendee Nicole, M.S. Wildlife Ecology ~ Freelance Writer * Photographer *
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On 7/15/13 10:19 PM, "malcolm McCallum" <[email protected]>
wrote:
Maybe its just Cope's rule in action.
Mammals get bigger over evolutionary time...
(I don't really believe this, I suspect its just that we select the
stronger animals to keep and weed out the weaker ones, weaker ones
tend to be smaller, so there would be a general selection
[unintentionally] for larger animals due to their more rapid growth
allowing them to complete better at an earlier age forcing the less
competitive to be even less competitive. Even in captivity this will
happen!)
On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 9:22 PM, Wendee Nicole <[email protected]>
wrote:
The research shows despite no substantial changes in lab protocols over
the past decades, there has been an increase in body weight for lab
animals.
Wendee
Sent from my iPhone
www.wendeenicole.com
On Jul 15, 2013, at 8:03 PM, Hilit Finkler <[email protected]>
wrote:
Obesity in lab animals? Is he serious?
They don't exercise live in cage 100-1000 time smaller than their
natural
habitats, are under terrible stress - need i go on?
On Mon, Jul 15, 2013 at 7:23 PM, Skylar Bayer <[email protected]>
wrote:
Hello Ecolog-L,
I recently read this article about the trends of obesity world-wide.
One of
the points the author makes,
"But such results don¹t explain why the weight gain is also occurring
in
species that human beings don¹t pamper, such as animals in labs, whose
diets are strictly controlled. In fact, lab animals¹ lives are so
precisely
watched and measured that the researchers can rule out accidental
human
influence: records show those creatures gained weight over decades
without
any significant change in their diet or activities. Obviously, if
animals
are getting heavier along with us, it can¹t just be that they¹re
eating
more Snickers bars and driving to work most days. On the contrary, the
trend suggests some widely shared cause, beyond the control of
individuals,
which is contributing to obesity across many species."
He refers to lab animals in this statement, but he mentions industrial
chemicals and BPAs that get into the environment (more than just urban
areas, I presume) and other viruses and bacteria that may relate to
weight
gain/loss.
My question is, has anyone here on this listserv, or know of anyone
doing
long term ecological studies on mammals or other vertebrates where
weights
are recorded?
I am curious if these kinds of compounds, which must be leaked into
certain
systems, at the very least, have the same kind of "obesogen" effect on
ecosystems outside an urban center.
I'd love to hear what any of you think about the matter.
The article:
http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/david-berreby-obesity-era/
Thanks!
Skylar
--
Skylar Bayer
University of Maine
School of Marine Sciences
Graduate Student of Marine Biology
Darling Marine Center
193 Clark's Cove Road
Walpole, ME 04573
[email protected]
--
Hilit Finkler
PhD
Zoology and urban ecology
Tel Aviv University
Israel
--
Malcolm L. McCallum
Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
School of Biological Sciences
University of Missouri at Kansas City
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