Chapter 16, Problem 21A

Summary Introduction

To discuss: Contribution of climate change in the evolution of bipedalism.

Introduction: Evolution is the change in traits of a species over generations, which is mainly dependent on the natural selection.

Explanation of Solution

An organism is called bipedal when it can walk upright on two legs. One of the genus, hominins while becoming bipedal, developed a fully upright stance, shortened arms, restructured pelvic bones and foot bones.

There is an argument that hominins became bipedal as a result of expansion of grasslands due to climate change. As the grasslands became more prevalent, the pockets of forest seemed to exist. Some evidences also suggest that some of the early bipedal hominins lived in woodlands. Meanwhile, it was also suggested by some scientists that the most successful hominins have been those which evolved on the edge of forest and savanna. Whereas, the earliest hominins are believed to be slept is trees, that would roam out to savanna in order to find food.

Conclusion

Adaptability to a range of environments is believed to be the origin in the hominin to use forest and grassland.