eli5: If more melanin is advantageous in warm climates, why is less of it advantageous in colder climates? Wouldn’t darker skin still be most advantageous in cold climates where it might occasionally be hot?
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somewhat off topic but relevant to evolution and photoperiod. Is there any evidence that blue eyes offer better night vision and that would be justified from an evolutionary stand pt. in regions closer to the poles?
Melanin keeps UV light from penetrating your skin. You need a little UV light to make vitamin D, but too much and you’ll get sunburned.
somewhat off topic but relevant to evolution and photoperiod. Is there any evidence that blue eyes offer better night vision and that would be justified from an evolutionary stand pt. in regions closer to the poles?
Melanin keeps UV light from penetrating your skin. You need a little UV light to make vitamin D, but too much and you’ll get sunburned.
somewhat off topic but relevant to evolution and photoperiod. Is there any evidence that blue eyes offer better night vision and that would be justified from an evolutionary stand pt. in regions closer to the poles?
Because mates have selected for it. There is no advantage incurred by someone in the far north with extra melanin, so they aren’t more likely to be represented at mating age. So at that point it just becomes a mates preference.
Remember that not every trait is passed because it imparts a survival advantage. A lot of them are imparted because it provides a purely mating advantage.
Because mates have selected for it. There is no advantage incurred by someone in the far north with extra melanin, so they aren’t more likely to be represented at mating age. So at that point it just becomes a mates preference.
Remember that not every trait is passed because it imparts a survival advantage. A lot of them are imparted because it provides a purely mating advantage.
Because mates have selected for it. There is no advantage incurred by someone in the far north with extra melanin, so they aren’t more likely to be represented at mating age. So at that point it just becomes a mates preference.
Remember that not every trait is passed because it imparts a survival advantage. A lot of them are imparted because it provides a purely mating advantage.
There’s another evolutionary aspect to this which seems to be missed so far in this thread. Imagine a dark skinned hunter, trying to catch prey in a predominantly white landscape! Would that work??? Of course not! Obviously the same applies the other way too.
There’s another evolutionary aspect to this which seems to be missed so far in this thread. Imagine a dark skinned hunter, trying to catch prey in a predominantly white landscape! Would that work??? Of course not! Obviously the same applies the other way too.
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