Snakes bite back at poison toads [evolution happening now in Australia]

BBC ^ | December 8, 2004

[G Larry]

So, are the dead snakes reproducing?

Or, are other snakes watching and telling their babies not to grow such big mouths?

"evolution" my a$$!

[GreenFreeper]

That's a mighty low bar. Dog breeds are examples of evolution by that definition Well it may be low but that is what evolution is, look it up.

[Fatalis]

Well it may be low but that is what evolution is, look it up.

LOL! Then why not just point to the allele frequencies of dog breeds as examples of evolution and be done with it?

Natural selection is not a synonym for evolution, it is a component of it, just as a tire is not a synonym for a car, but a component of it.

Demonstrating natural selection is an important part of demonstrating evolution, but showing me a tire is not the same as showing me a car.

[balrog666]

Not quite evolution. The red-bellied black snake and the green tree snake with larger heads have killed themselves off through eating cane toads; therefore, the snakes with the smaller heads, that can't eat the toads, are going to be the ones left to reproduce. The snakes aren't evolving. The individuals with certain characteristics are just be handed a reproductive advantage....

The distribution of alleles is shifting dramatically in the overall population. Buy a clue, that's evolution is!

[contemplator]

Your explanation sounds like 'survival of the fittest'. How is it different?

[Senator Goldwater]

"They seem to be a little bit silly about eating things that taste bad"

I won't touch that comment.

[csvset]

Worth watching.

[RightWingAtheist]

Actually, the cane toads have killed off most of the red-bellies in the north. It's still found in northern Queensland, although its numbers are dwindling.

[RightWingAtheist]

Exactly. Why is that even when people accept the facts, they can't accept the truth of the larger propositions which naturally derive from them? It's an attitude that reminds of the libs who concede, yeah, the Taliban and the Baathists were awful, and yeah, we have all the evidence that they did awful things, and yeah, they are a threat to world security, BUT THAT DOESN'T JUSTIFY STOPPING THEM!

[RightWingAtheist]

So, are the dead snakes reproducing?

Evolution has as much to do with the least fit organisms not reproducing as it does with the fittest surviving. The snakes which are dying before they can reproduce, or at least bear a large enough number of offspring to pass their genes on to, are those which are least fit to adapt to this intruder-species in their mist. Those which are surviving and are able to reproduce quickly enough are those who have features-be they smaller heads, greater resistance to poison, or whatnot-which allows them to better cope with the invaders.

[RightWingAtheist]

http://www.badmovies.org/movies/canetoads/index.html

[freebilly]

Must have been asleep during that class.... ;^)

[Dimensio]

No, because the snakes aren't giving birth to frogs, as per creationist evolution.

[Dimensio]

No one said that they weren't becoming anything but snakes. Evolution is more than just speciation.

Odd how many creationists claim to accept what they call "micro-evolution", and his would fit that description, and yet now creationists are still jumping on this and shouting "this isn't evolution!"

[JudyB1938]

I don't care what changes have happened to those snakes, they are STILL SNAKES.

[G Larry]

Ah, new discovery.

"Extinction proof of evolution!"

Glad to hear we can quit wasting time and money protecting "endangered species".

[RightWingAtheist]

"Extinction proof of evolution!"

It would be more accurate to say that extinction is explained by evolution.

Glad to hear we can quit wasting time and money protecting "endangered species".

On the contrary, understanding how species evolve and adapt has allowed for improved wildlife conservation, and a better understanding of which species are truly at risk. If more people on both side of the aisle actually took the time to understand evolution (and basic economics), the "land rights vs. the environment" debate would be considerably less acrimonious.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

The red-bellied black snake is under no threat from the cane toad. Their ranges barely intermingle:

Cheers, Byron

[grey_whiskers]

"They seem to be a little bit silly about eating things that taste bad"

I won't touch that comment.

Especially coming from 'Down Under' what is that #@$&%!! stuff called, marmite or vegemite or whatever? ;-)

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!