***
The ontogeny of precocial
vs. altricial Umwelten
Morten Tønnessen, University of Stavanger
The model organism in Uexküll’s Umwelt theory (Uexküll 2010
etc.) is an adult organism. In the case of embryos, fetuses and, in many
species, neonates and young specimen, his dictum that an animal’s Umwelt only
consists of those questions that the animal can answer does not apply. As
Magnus (2011: 41) observes, Uexküll distinguishes between the time of becoming
and the time of being, where “[t]he time of becoming equals the time needed for
developing functioning organs; the time of being on the other hand covers the
time when the organs have acquired their final form and as such are ready for
use.”
The human species is not the only species that is not born
‘ready-made’. Whereas individuals of precocial
species are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching,
and thus quite independent from the outset, individuals of altricial species, whether mammals or birds, are relatively
helpless as newborn/newly hatched, and require adult care. As Starck and Ricklefs
(1998: 23) write, many insectivores, all rabbits, many rodents and most carnivores
give birth to small neonates that
have closed eyes and ears, and no hair, are generally poorly developed, and are
dependent on maternal care for a long lactation period. Newborn marsupials and
monotremes are extremes, resembling early embryos, even compared to other
altricial mammals. Precocial neonates are found among the ungulates […] and
several rodent taxa.
Given the noticeable, axiomatic correspondence between
physiology and Umwelt, the Umwelten of altricial species are at the beginning
of life radically different from the Umwelten of precocial species. Briefly
put, whereas precocial Umwelten are largely functional from the outset (and can
thus be studied in isolation, as it were), altricial Umwelten become fully
functional only gradually (and must therefore be studied in conjunction with
the Umwelten of other individuals on which they depend).
In
the course of this presentation I will also offer a brief overview of the
ontogeny of the embryonic, foetal and infant human Umwelt (Tønnessen 2014).
Fundamental questions that will be addressed include: At what point does the
human Umwelt emerge? What Umwelt transitions can be identified in the
ontogenesis of the early human Umwelt? What is characteristic of the Umwelt
trajectory of human embryos/foetuses/infants? And, how are Umwelt objects
established/crystallized/fixated in the human Umwelt?
Acknowledgement:
This work has been supported by the research project “Animals in Changing
Environments: Cultural Mediation and Semiotic Analysis” (EEA Norway
Grants/Norway Financial Mechanism 2009–2014 under project contract no. EMP151).
References
Magnus,
Riin 2011. Time-plans of the organisms: Jakob von Uexküll’s explorations into
the temporal constitution of living beings. Sign
Systems Studies 39(2/4): 37–57.
Starck,
J. Matthias; Ricklefs, Robert E. 1998. Patterns of development: The
altricial–precocial spectrum. In: Starck, J. Matthias; Ricklefs, Robert E.
(eds.), Avian Growth and Development: Evolution
within the Altricial-Precocial Spectrum. New York: Oxford University Press,
3–30.
Tønnessen,
Morten 2014. The ontogeny of the embryonic, foetal and infant human umwelt. Sign Systems Studies 42 (2/3) (Special
Issue “Sign evolution on multiple time scales” guest-edited by Kristian Tylén
and Luis Emilio Bruni): 281–307.
Uexküll,
Jakob von 2010. A Foray into the Worlds of
Animals and Humans with a Theory of Meaning [orig. Uexküll 1956
[1934/1940]; O’Neil Joseph, trans.] Minneapolis: University of Minneapolis
Press.
