Thread: Evolution in Action

Originally Posted by MisLed

Scientists disagree with the initial posters claim. THEY say......Global Warming.

http://weaselzippers.us/2012/01/03/s...lobal-warming/

From the actual link:

It means the Australian black-tip could be adapting to ensure its survival as sea temperatures change because of global warming.

There is no disagreement whatsoever. Evolution is often assumed to be caused by changes in the environment so that new species will survive as older species die out due to those changes. In case it's misunderstood global warming is an environmental change.

Originally Posted by Unifier

In order to defend this as an example of evolution, you must discard the evolutionary belief in random mutation. Because this incident was the direct result of intelligently guided action from the animals, themselves. There was nothing at all random about it.

That is a bad misconception of how evolution works. Richard Dawkins and many other scientists have to keep explaining that gene variation have different degrees of randomness, but natural selection is NOT random.

At the opposite end scale, natural selection is sometimes interpreted as a random process. This is also a misconception. The genetic variation that occurs in a population because of mutation is random-but selection acts on that variation in a very non-random way: genetic variants that aid survival and reproduction are much more likely to become common than variants that don't. Natural selection is NOT random!

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_32


Variation IS occurring with these shark populations, it just so happens that natural selection is giving an advantage to the hybrid shark. Not all offspring inherit equal amounts from their parents. If that was the case we'd all look alike. And we wouldn't want that.

Originally Posted by Unifier

In order to defend this as an example of evolution, you must discard the evolutionary belief in random mutation. Because this incident was the direct result of intelligently guided action from the animals, themselves. There was nothing at all random about it.

This is a false dichotomy that demostrates a lack of knowledge related to the theory of Natural Selection. By analogy it would be like saying that if I drive to work that I can't walk to work or take a bus. In each case I can still get to work.

I would suggest a reading of the following:

http://www.allaboutscience.org/theor...ection-faq.htm

Oh, hogwash. Species are immutable and nothing ever adapts or changes. You know that.

Originally Posted by DeathStar

Oh, hogwash. Species are immutable and nothing ever adapts or changes. You know that.

Which is, of course, why we have a fossil record comprised of tens of millions of specimens and DNA evidence that firmly establishes evolution has occurred throughout the history of life on Earth.

I watched a documentary on Dolphins today and i was amazed to learn that dolphins evolved from an animal that looked like a wolf, but was more closely related to a deer. God said "bang," and here we are.