Project Research

(Analogous)

Name: Rawan Nasr 212077

Presented to: dr. Omnia Salah
Introduction

The word I chose is “ Adaptation”. Adaptation is a modification of an organism or its

parts that makes it more fit for existence. An adaptation is passed from generation to
generation. In evolutionary theory, adaptation is the biological mechanism by which
organisms adjust to new environments or to changes in their current environment.
Organisms can adapt to an environment in different ways. They can adapt biologically,
meaning they alter body functions. An example of biological adaptation can be seen in
the bodies of people living at high altitudes, such as Tibet. Organisms can also exhibit
behavioral adaptation. One example of behavioral adaptation is how emperor penguins
in Antarctica crowd together to share their warmth in the middle of winter. Scientists who
studied adaptation prior to the development of evolutionary theory included Georges
Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon. He was a French mathematician who believed that
organisms changed over time by adapting to the environments of their geographical
locations. An adaptation can be structural, meaning it is a physical part of the organism.
An adaptation can also be behavioral, affecting the way an organism responds to its
environment. An example of a structural adaptation is the way some plants have
adapted to life in dry, hot deserts. Plants called succulents have adapted to this climate
by storing water in their short, thick stems and leaves. Seasonal migration is an
example of a behavioral adaptation. Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) migrate
thousands of kilometers every year as they swim from the cold Arctic Ocean in summer
to the warm waters off the coast of Mexico in winter. Grey whale calves are born in the
warm southern water, and then travel in groups called pods to the nutrient-rich waters of
the Arctic. Adaptations often develop in response to a change in the organisms’ habitat.
Humans and animals' ways of adaptation are not so different. It happens that we all
converge on the same abilities not because we are closely related but because we
faced similar problems so we came up with the same cognitive structures. In the
research I am going to discuss deeply how animals are self aware just as humans,
types of self awareness, self awareness in psychology, philosophy, methodology and
how I came up with the project concept according to the words “ Adaptation” and “self
awareness”.

Reasons of selection : I chose the word adaptation and it led me to search if

animals are self aware just as humans. As we look to the world in a human perception.
Humans adapted to the world according to not just their needs but also their wants. As
they have turned the world in their favor. Unlike animals they adapted to the world
according to their needs of survival. To sum up, my reason for choosing this topic is to
show that humans and animals are not so different yet each one of them has his own
motive.
Behavioral adaptation:
something an animal does usually in response to some type of external stimulus in
order to survive. Hibernating during winter is an example of a behavioral adaptation.
Great Horned Owls and other species of owls are nocturnal, meaning their behavior
adaptation is to sleep during the day and be active at night. This allows them to hunt for
food in the dark when it is easier to sneak up on their prey.

Physiological Adaptations
are processes inside an animal’s body that help it survive in its environment., like
chemical or metabolism changes.

Adaptation in biology
the process by which a species becomes fitted to its environment; it is the result of
natural selection’s acting upon heritable variation over several generations. Organisms
are adapted to their environments in a great variety of ways: in their structure,
physiology, and genetics, in their locomotion or dispersal, in their means of defense and
attack, in their reproduction and development, and in other respects. All biologists agree
that organismal traits commonly reflect adaptations. However, much disagreement has
arisen over the role of history and constraint in the appearance of traits as well as the
best methodology for showing that a trait is truly an adaptation. A trait may be a function
of history rather than adaptation.

Self awareness :

Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or
emotions do or don't align with your internal standards. There are questions regarding
what part of the brain allows us to be self-aware and how we are biologically
programmed to be self-aware. V.S. Ramachandran has speculated that mirror neurons
may provide the neurological basis of human self-awareness. People with
self-awareness skills can:

Recognize their strengths and challenges

Understand and talk about their needs and feelings
Recognize other people’s needs and feelings
See how their behavior affects others
Develop a growth mindset and learn from their mistakes

And to prove if animals have self awareness they must have those skills to be
considered as self aware creatures just as humans are.
● Ability to learn language
● Tools to solve problems
● Learn from memories or mistakes
● Future planning
● Share culture

Scientists through tests and experiments proved that several animal species do have
those skills and they are self aware and have their own perception of the world and they
also know how to deal with the surroundings and environmental circumstances.

Three "types" of self-awareness

David DeGrazia states that there are three types of self-awareness in animals.

Self awareness in animals:

Bodily self-awareness
This sense of awareness allows animals to understand that they are different from the
rest of the environment; it is also the reason why animals do not eat themselves.
Bodily-awareness also includes proprioception and sensation.
Social self-awareness
This type of awareness is seen in highly social animals and is the awareness that they
have a role within themselves in order to survive. This type of awareness allows animals
to interact with each other.
Introspective self-awareness
This awareness is responsible for animals to understand feelings, desires, and beliefs.

Self awareness in Dogs:

dogs can't identify themselves in the mirror. Dogs fail to recognize themselves in the
mirror mark test, they still have some level of self-awareness and ace other
self-recognition tests. They can recognize their own odor, and recall memories of
specific events.

Self awareness in Dolphins :

Dolphins Demonstrate Self-Awareness Earlier than Humans and Chimpanzees.
Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops) show the capacity for mirror self-recognition (MSR), an
indicator of self-awareness, at an earlier age than humans and chimpanzees.

Self awareness in Apes :

Chimpanzees are self-aware and can anticipate the impact of their actions on the
environment around them, an ability once thought to be uniquely human.

Self awareness in Elephants:

Not only are they capable of distinguishing between languages and remembering
things, but they are self-aware! Researchers discovered that elephants could recognize
themselves in mirrors.

Self awareness in Octopus:

octopus is one of the smartest animals or creatures that studies have discovered
recently. Their level of self-awareness is high as they show signs of being responsive
and aware of their surroundings. They use tools to solve problems and they are good
planners they can also recognise individual people or divers. They show interest in new
things such as divers equipment or cameras. They also developed one of the strongest
and smartest defense mechanisms, which is their ability to transform the color of skin
Camouflage.

Self awareness in psychology:

Self-awareness has been called arguably the most fundamental issue in psychology,
from both a developmental and an evolutionary perspective. Duval and Wicklund in their
1972 landmark book A theory of objective self awareness, developed a self awareness
theory that states that when we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and
compare our current behavior to our internal standards and values.

Self awareness in Methodology:

Self-awareness is one of the attributes of Emotional Intelligence. It means having a
clear perception of your personality, including your strengths, weaknesses, thoughts,
beliefs, motivation, and emotions. It also allows you to understand other people and
how they perceive you, as well as your attitude and responses to them. The capacity to
be self-aware is regarded as a fundamental difference between humans and other
species. Many animals show complex signs and behaviors that are consonant with
self-awareness. Many animals are indeed self-aware, but the complexity of this process
differs among species. Different theories have been proposed. For Damasio, the self is
a dynamic process that developed through the course of evolution and personal history
(Damasio, 2010).

Hippocampus
is a complex brain structure embedded deep into the temporal lobe. It has a major role
in learning and memory. And scientists assume that this part in the brain

Habitat
Every organism has a unique ecosystem within which it lives. This ecosystem is its
natural habitat. This is where the basic needs of the organism to survive are met: food,
water, shelter from the weather and place to breed its young. All organisms need to
adapt to their habitat to be able to survive. This means adapting to be able to survive
the climatic conditions of the ecosystem, predators, and other species that compete for
the same food and space. An adaptation is a modification or change in the organism's
body or behaviour that helps it to survive. An animal may adapt to its habitat in different
ways. It may be a physical or structural adaptation, just as the limbs of birds have
modified into wings or the way the cheetah is shaped for running at a fast speed. It may
be in the way the body works in circulating and respiration, for instance the gills that fish
have enable them to breathe in water. Or it may be the way the animal behaves whether
it is hunting for food, or running fast to avoid predators or migrating to other places for
food or survival.

This animal's basic survival needs include:

● Food: carnivorous (eats meat), including fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals
● shelter from weather and predators have camouflage and can submerge for long
periods of time
● Water: provided by diet and from freshwater sources
● a place to raise young female prepares and guards a nest until the young hatch
and are released
Humans and animals are not so different in their adaptation abilities and both are self
aware but they may differ in their reasons and motivations for adaptation. Humans have
developed mechanisms to adapt according to their wants, not just their need to survive
or live. Unlike animals, their ability to adapt may be their only motive is their need for
survival and the continuity of living.

Difference Between Human and Animal according to Wants and Needs:

Food habits
Humans : humans are typically omnivores.
Animals: Animals, on the other hand, are herbivores or
carnivores, and occasionally both. For
example, Raccoons are omnivores

Survival strategies
Humans with their advanced mental ability and curiosity can turn any environment in
their favor.
Animals are different from humans in the sense that they either adapt to their existing
environment or die. Also, they consume only for their survival.
Humans have invented science and made several ways so that they live on the planet
for years. Some animal species can become extinct as they are dependent only on
nature. Humans are driven by reason and logic. Animals, on the other hand, are
completely driven by instincts.

Project Concept

Just like humans, animals possess sufficient self-awareness that they are able to
develop adaptive capabilities that suit their needs for survival. Humans and animals'
ways of adaptation are not so different. It happens that we all converge on the same
abilities not because we are closely related but because we faced similar problems so
we came up with the same cognitive structures. Although we share adaptability, we may
differ in our motivations.Animals have evolved the ability to adapt according to what
they need to live and survive. As for humans, their ability to adapt has been developed
to suit not only their need to live, but also their wants. Each of us sees the world from
his own perspective and experiences, even though we face the same problems on
earth.

Conclusion

To summarize, Humans and animals share their ability to adapt their self-awareness to
themselves and to their surroundings. Their motives may differ according to each of
them's vision and perspective on the world. Both are exposed to the same problems
and both adapt in many common ways. The animal's perception of the world and how
they are self aware is their key for adaptation according to their needs.

Resources
Difference Between Humans and Animals (vedantu.com)
Adaptation and Survival (nationalgeographic.org)
Adaptation Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
Adaptation (nationalgeographic.org)
Adaptation | Definition, Examples, & Facts | Britannica