In Depth

Author

Ellis DV

Address

Biology Department, University of Victoria, B.C., Canada.

Title

Wetlands or aquatic ape? Availability of food resources.

Source

Nutrition & Health 1993;9(3):161-4

Abstract

A human evolutionary scenario including an ape inhabiting marine wetlands is rational in a number of contexts. The concept is viable ecologically due to the availability of abundant animal foods in a variety of habitats ranging from mangrove forests to coral reefs. The food resources include mollusks, crustacea and fish abundant in wet zones and pools between high and low tide levels. There is seasonal abundance of swarming marsh insects, turtles, eggs and chicks of colonial birds, and occasional beached and dying marine mammals. Some of these foods would provide an enriched source of polyunsaturated essential fatty acids needed for brain development, and thus allow a spiral of increasing brain development, tool utilisation for better food gathering, and vocal communication for group action. The concept is viable also in terms of availability of the ape- human stock in the African Rift Valley, isolated from montane forests during the late Pliocene, and as an adaptive explanation for many of the species-specific human characters not found in other ground living primates.