Vladlen Garder

5/19/2015

Period: 1

The Evolution of Human Skin Color

1. What are the causes of skin cancer?
a. Over-exposure to the sun as UV rays are cancerous to humans.
2. Why are Caucasians more at ricks of skin cancer than other populations?
a. There is less pigment in Caucasians where they can absorb more UV rays than any other
skin color.
3. At what age does skin cancer typically occurs? Is the incidence of skin cancer greater in youth or
old age?
a. Around 65 years old
b. The chance is greater in older humans
4. Does the amount of UV light reaching the Earth vary in a predictable manner? If so, describe the
pattern you observe.
a. Yes, The UV ray intensity is more intense near the equator and dissipates as you get
further away from the equator
5. What latitude receives the greatest amount of UV light? The Least?
6. Based on these data, where might you expect to find the most lightly pigmented and the most
darkly pigmented people on the planet?
a. You would expect to see more pigmented skin near the equator, and further away from
the equator you will see slightly less pigmented skin as you progress further away from
the equator
7. Provide a rational to your answer above.
a. There is more UV rays at the equator, which selects for humans with more pigment in
skin. This results in more darker skin due to the amount of pigment produced
8. Interpret this graph and the trend it describes
a. Is skin reflectance randomly distributed throughout the globe? If not, how would you
describe the pattern?
i. No, as white skin reflects UV rays more than darker colored skin. If you get
further away from the equator, the lighter skin reflects more UV rays.
b. Restate your findings in terms of skin color and UV lights
i. Where there is more UV rays, the darker pigment absorbs more UV rays while
the lighter colored skin reflects more UV rays
c. How closely do these findings match the predictions of your hypothesis?
i. Very accurately
d. Some populations have skin colors that are darker or lighter than predicted based on
the location. What might explain the skin color of these exceptional populations?
i. A mass migration or population growth inside of a different population
9. Hypothesize why different skin colors have evolved. Based on what you know, what factor is
most likely to exert a selective pressure on skin color?
a. Different region of the globe have different UV light radiations where more UV light
radiation requires more pigment in the skin to prevent keratin from denaturing.
10. Review your answer to Question 3. Keeping your answer in mind, how strong a selective
pressure do you expect skin cancer to exert on reproductive success?
a. Areas where there is more UV light radiation will require more Pigment in the skin. If
there is not enough pigment where the UV light will begin to mutate the DNA. Then skin

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cancer will occur. That is why areas that require more pigment in the skin originated
from the beginning. There is a very large selective pressure compared from someone
from away from the equator vs someone on the equator.
Based on this information, does your hypothesis about the evolution of skin color seem likely?
Why or why not? How does skin color meet, or fail to meet, the three requirements of natural
section outlined above?
a. Yes, as geographically darker skinned people are near the equator and lighter skinned
people are away from the equator.
Based on Branda and Eatons results, what is the apparent effect of UV light exposure on blood
folate levels?
a. There is less folate in the patients compared to the normal exposure patients
What is the apparent effect of UV light on folate levels in these test tubes
a. There is less folate where there is extra UV radiation compared to the normal amount.
How is folate linked to natural selection?
a. The environment has situations that must be accustomed to live on, and the genes that
favor the area more seem to be better on the area. The folate amount will be protected
due to the amount of pigment in the area due to the selecting characteristic of the area.
All other things being equal, which skin tone would you expect to be correlated with higher
levels of folate?
a. Darker skin tones
Based on the new information, revise your hypothesis to explain the evolution of human skin
color.
a. Areas with more UV radiation to attempt to protect the folate levels must produce more
pigment in the skin to protect the folate in the body system.
What would happen to the reproductive success of:
a. A light-skinned person living in the tropics?
i. The person may encounter an insufficient folate amount and encounter skin
cancer if enough pigment is not present
b. A light-skinned person living in the polar region?
i. The person will survive fine as there is less UV light radiation
c. A dark-skinned person living in the tropics?
i. The person will survive fine as there is enough pigment to combat the UV light
radiation
d. A dark-skinned person living in the polar region?
i. The person may live just fine as there is not enough UV light to harm the person.
But pregnancy requires a lot of folate and the sun provides Vitamin B
production so there may be issues with carrying a child.
Predict the skin tons expected at different latitudes, taking folate needs into consideration
a. There will be darker skin tones at the equator and near the equator, but as you begin to
move north or south of the equator there is less need for pigment so there will be
lighter toned skin in those areas.
Can folate explain the variation and distribution of light- and dark-skinned individuals around
the world?

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a. A human requires the perfect amount of folate amount into the system and not too
much sun light to reduce folate concentration and even damage the DNA
How is vitamin D linked to natural selection?
a. A person need just the adequate amount of UV light as humans require UV light for
Vitamin D. More exposure equals more pigment for the perfect balance
Which skin tone allows someone to maintain he recommended level of vitamin D?
a. It depends on your geographic setting as there are areas that require more or less
pigment to balance out the folate content
Based on this new information, revise your hypothesis to explain the evolution of the variation
and distribution of human skin color
a. Humans require an adequate amount of UV light to produce Vitamin D but not excessive
to harm the DNA in the body. This is done by the amount of pigment in the skin to
balance out the Vitamin D production
Taking only vitamin D into consideration, what would happen to the reproductive success of:
a. A light-skinned person in the tropics
i. There is a lot of Vitamin D production if folate is not an issue, easy
b. A light-skinned person in the polar region
i. If there is enough Vitamin D production go ahead, but there may not be enough
light to produce Vitamin D
c. A dark-skinned person in the tropics?
i. There is enough pigment to balance out the sunlight needed
d. A dark-skinned person living in the polar region?
i. There is too much pigment for the area so there would be insufficient Vitamin D
Predict the skin tones expected at different latitudes taking only vitamin D needs into
consideration
a. There would be darker skinned people near the equator, but lighter skinned people can
live anywhere
Can vitamin D alone explain the current world distribution of skin color?
a. Lighter skinned people can live anywhere but darker skinned people would live closer to
the equator so this wouldnt really explain the reason much
Using principles of natural selection, predict the skin tone expected at different latitudes, taking
ultraviolet, exposure, vitamin D, and folate needs into consideration
a. There will be more darker skinned people near the equator, and lighter skinned people
further from the equator
Are UV, light, vitamin D, and folate needs sufficient to explain the current world distribution of
color?
a. Yes
How might you explain the Inuits, living at northern latitudes, are relatively dark-skinned?
a. The group may have migrated as a group at one point in the groups history
Conversely, Northern Europeans are slightly lighter-skinned than expected for their latitude.
Propose a hypothesis to explain this observation.
a. The group may have migrated as a group at one point in history
Which populations have insufficient amounts of vitamin D in their blood?
a. East Asian and south Asian

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Period: 1

31. What is common trait to all of these populations? How could this explain their deficiency?
a. The area they live in have less UV light exposure and causes this problem
32. For several decades, milk and cereal have been fortified with vitamin D to help increase intake
of this nutrient. Hypothesize why these fortification programs appear to be failing in some
ethnic groups
a. The group may find it unnecessary as the group already has enough vitamin d in the
system to not require an artificial source of vitamin D
33. What should some Canadians do to avoid vitamin D deficiency?
a. Move to an area with the proper exposure or artificially acquire the nutrient.
34. If individuals do not take steps to boost their vitamin D intake, hypothesize what might happen
to their descendants in the future.
a. The group may die off slowly as birth defects or self-health hazards may become an
issue due to not enough vitamin D present
35. What might happen to Australians of European descent over time?
a. The group may suffer from vitamin D deficiency or tan to acquire the pigment
concentration depending on the differences in UV light concentration
36. Think of the forces that affected the evolution of skin color in the past. Contrast these to the
factors that affect skin pigmentation today. Hypothesize about the factors that may affect skin
pigmentation in the future.
a. Do you think the impact of natural selection on skin color is as strong today as it was in
the past?
i. No
b. What factors may have decreased or increased selection today?
i. With access to vitamin d artificially or using sunscreen when needed
c. Predict skin color distribution in the year 2500
i. Skin color will be spread out through the world as there is artificial ways to get
vitamin d or protect yourselves from the sun.
37. During the trip, the lightly-pigmented individual is looking forward to lying on a beach ad
working on his/her tan. Will this person be adapting to the environment? In other words, will
evolution take place by developing a tan in a geographical region of intense UV light?
a. Evolution as a group wont occur but a temporary state change will occur as the person
will acquire more pigment to conform to the situation
38. Should the lightly-pigment person wear sunscreen on the trip?
a. Yes
39. Should this person wear sunscreen when he/she is at northern latitudes
a. No, as the person needs more UV light and not repel the UV light.