« ALEA Home | Email msg. | Reply to msg. | Post new | Board info. Previous | Home | Next

Nice little article on the speed of evolution

By: Cactus Flower in ALEA | Recommend this post (0)
Wed, 16 Dec 15 8:24 PM | 101 view(s)
Boardmark this board | The Trust Matrix
Msg. 17840 of 54959
Jump:
Jump to board:
Jump to msg. #

"One of the most famous examples was documented in a population of finches living on Daphne Major island in the Galapagos archipelago. In this case, ground finches Geospiza fortis evolved larger beaks after a major drought in 1977. During this harsh period, the small seeds on which the ground finches were feeding on became scarcer, and most of the birds died...

Recently, a team of scientists in Florida demonstrated that rapid evolution of a species can be triggered by a negative interaction with a competitor. To do so, the scientists introduced an invasive species of anole lizard to a group of small islands that shared the same lifestyle and diet as the native one, Anolis carolinensis.

The invader anoles forced the native ones to move from their original habitat on the forest floor and into the trees. Scientists were not only able to follow the rapid shift in the lifestyle of the native anole species (they perch higher and higher in the trees over time), but also observed that it involved rapid changes to their body shape. Within only 15 years (20 generations), the native anole species evolved larger toe pads with stickier scales, enabling them to climb more efficiently in their new, higher habitat."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/animals-evolution_5670cda0e4b0688701db8554




» You can also:
« ALEA Home | Email msg. | Reply to msg. | Post new | Board info. Previous | Home | Next