Our genes may be an unexpected contributor to pro-conservation sentiment

As global environmental crises mount, numerous policies have been proposed with an eye toward a more sustainable future. However, such recommendations have often gone unheeded, falling by the wayside for lack of public support.

Writing in BioScience, Chia-chen Chang, of the National University of Singapore, and colleagues argue that a greater understanding of people's support-;or lack thereof-;for proenvironmental policies is fundamental to achieving environmental sustainability. In particular, the authors highlight a perhaps unexpected contributor to pro-conservation sentiment: our genes. Using data from TwinsUK (N = 2312), the largest adult twin registry in the United Kingdom, the authors compared survey results from monozygotic (or "identical") twins with those of dizygotic twins, who share fewer genes.

We found that MZ twins were consistently more similar to each other in concern for nature, environmental movement activism, and personal conservation behavior than were DZ twins, suggesting genetic influences on these phenotypes."

Study Authors, American Institute of Biological Sciences

The results also demonstrated "moderate heritability (30%–40%) for concern for nature, environmental movement activism, and personal conservation behavior and high genetic correlations between them (.6–.7), suggesting a partially shared genetic basis." According to Chang and colleagues, this finding is well aligned with evolutionary studies describing the heritability of altruistic and cooperative behavior and those traits' benefits for future generations.

Despite these striking findings, the authors caution that high heritability does not suggest the insignificance of environments. In many cases, they say, "Environmental interventions, such as policies, may influence heritability," pointing to a need for further study to untangle these complexities.

Source:
Journal reference:

Chang, C-C., et al. (2021) Genetic Contribution to Concern for Nature and Proenvironmental Behavior. BioScience. doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biab103.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of AZoLifeSciences.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Antifreeze Fish Shed Light on How New Genes Evolve