Adaptation

 

The Saiga population is made up of non-domestic ruminants.  Ruminant digestion is an adaptation they have used to cope with their often harsh environments.  Some live in geographical areas that often have direct and parching heat. Also, ruminant digestion better suits their foraging behavior, and allows them to digest food that is generally indigestible by other organisms (Hoffman, 1989).  These two characteristics, accompanied by opportunity and pressure from their surroundings to adapt, ruminants like the Saiga tatarica have two critically important capabilities.   Alterations to the alimentary canal to better correspond with their specialized diet is the first of these (Hoffman, 1989).  The alimentary canal is the path that food must travel from mouth to anus in most animals.  Absorption, secretion, and a multitude of chemical breakdowns of substances take place in this canal.  One could hypothesize that the Saiga tatarica’s alimentary canal has superior fiber digestion to most organisms.  This animal is also capable of breaking down complex cellulose.  The second ability they have retained is the everlasting flexibility of being able to adapt as their environment is altered and the seasons change.  The Saiga tatarica goes one step further than the rest though, and it has been said that even the individual organism’s digestive abilities are capable of evolving (Hoffman, 1989).
 
The Saiga tatarica have a distinct mating call in which they create a roaring sound through their noses (Sokolov, 1974).  It is speculated that the noses of this antelope-like creature evolved over time becoming larger and larger in response to the need to remove a plethora of dust particles that will collect in their nostrils during the migration of large herds.  Given this information it is not a far stretch to hypothesize that the larger the nose the Saiga has the greater its ability for making the nasal mating call.  This would be a reproductive strategy in obtaining a mate.  An even more complex adaptation of this organism is the reorientation of the insertion point for the scapula (Sokolov, 1974).  When the Saiga are moving across terrain they prefer to hold their head horizontally which allows them the greatest range of motion for their front limbs, the bones of which extend from the shoulder girdle down. 

Image taken from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saiga_Antelope.jpg

Please continue on the journey of learning about Saiga by moving to the reproduction page, or return to the home page.