Definition
Harsh environments are external conditions that present a heightened or unusual challenge to the fitness of individual organisms, the stability of populations and longevity of species, or even the robustness of ecological communities.
Introduction
Harsh environments are external conditions that are detrimental to survival for most forms of life. These conditions limit the growth, abundance, or distribution of organisms and populations in an ecosystem. The challenges posed by such environments are typically conceived of as being abiotic in nature. Although by no means an exhaustive list, severe limitations of essential nutrients or vitamins, resources such as water or energy (in the form of heat or light), space or shelter, and extremes of temperature, pH, salinity, or altitude are all limiting factors that contribute to the harshness of an environment. Humans and many other organisms have...
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Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge the grant that currently funds my research: ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship project A Philosophy of Medicine for the 21st Century (Ref: FL170100160).
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Takacs, P. (2019). Harsh Environments. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_425-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_425-1
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