Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Animals
Lecture 9 Life at Altitude 10/11/20
High altitude environment
- Cold temperatures are common
- Snow and ice are often present
- Windy
- Dehydrating
- Exposure to high levels of UV radiation
- Low oxygen supply- 21% at any altitude.
- Cannot avoid pO2 – Hypoxia
- Permanent human settlement- top of Mont Blanc, 4500 meters or 15,000 feet
- Rate of Vo2 are comparable to people at sea levels despite pO2 being 60% at sea level.
- This represents evolutionary adaptation based on natural selection and gene frequency
changes.
Conforming to hypoxia
- Oxygen consumption is regulated not by the organism, but rather by the availability of
oxygen in the environment.
Lecture 9 Life at Altitude 10/11/20
High altitude environment
- Cold temperatures are common
- Snow and ice are often present
- Windy
- Dehydrating
- Exposure to high levels of UV radiation
- Low oxygen supply- 21% at any altitude.
- Cannot avoid pO2 – Hypoxia
- Permanent human settlement- top of Mont Blanc, 4500 meters or 15,000 feet
- Rate of Vo2 are comparable to people at sea levels despite pO2 being 60% at sea level.
- This represents evolutionary adaptation based on natural selection and gene frequency
changes.
Conforming to hypoxia
- Oxygen consumption is regulated not by the organism, but rather by the availability of
oxygen in the environment.
