Posted on 07/13/2006 1:21:13 PM PDT by presidio9
Finches on the Galapagos Islands that inspired Charles Darwin to develop the concept of evolution are now helping confirm it — by evolving.
A medium sized species of Darwin's finch has evolved a smaller beak to take advantage of different seeds just two decades after the arrival of a larger rival for its original food source.
The altered beak size shows that species competing for food can undergo evolutionary change, said Peter Grant of Princeton University, lead author of the report appearing in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
Grant has been studying Darwin's finches for decades and previously recorded changes responding to a drought that altered what foods were available.
It's rare for scientists to be able to document changes in the appearance of an animal in response to competition. More often it is seen when something moves into a new habitat or the climate changes and it has to find new food or resources, explained Robert C. Fleischer, a geneticist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and National Zoo.
This was certainly a documented case of microevolution, added Fleischer, who was not part of Grant's research.
Grant studied the finches on the Galapagos island Daphne, where the medium ground finch, Geospiza fortis, faced no competition for food, eating both small and large seeds.
In 1982 a breeding population of large ground finches, Geospiza magnirostris, arrived on the island and began competing for the large seeds of the Tribulus plants. G. magnirostris was able to break open and eat these seeds three times faster than G. fortis, depleting the supply of these seeds.
In 2003 and 2004 little rain fell, further reducing the food supply. The result was high mortality among G. fortis with larger beaks, leaving a breeding population of small-beaked G. fortis that could eat the seeds from smaller plants and didn't have to compete with the larger G. magnirostris for large seeds.
That's a form of evolution known as character displacement, where natural selection produces an evolutionary change in the next generation, Grant explained in a recorded statement made available by Science.
NS and mutation. Evolution is not the theory. It is the observations. I really don't care what the explanation is. It's not very useful.
I like the other stuff that is.
Get a better theory that actually has some implications and I'll be there with you.
Crap is crap.
DK
What evidence have you that the theory of evolution is "crap"? Note that a fuzzy boundary between species lines is not evidence, nor is your perception that no "useful" innovations have come from the theory of evolution; a theory need not have practical commercial innovations to be useful to science or valid.
What evidence have you that the theory of evolution is "crap"? Note that a fuzzy boundary between species lines is not evidence, nor is your perception that no "useful" innovations have come from the theory of evolution; a theory need not have practical commercial innovations to be useful to science or valid.
Did you listen to yourself? You don't have a clue what the meaning of species is. Evolution has not brought a big value discovery in real time.
Time has passed it's value.
Doh.
The theory of evolution cannot advance anything. This is a total bogus statement.In other words, garbage.
I stated how Ann Coulter was right in her assertions. It is you who provided inaccurate rebuttal. Back to your drawing board Di, you are the one who hasn't supported your statements. There is a difference to supporting your statements and making a statement and then demanding others prove them false. Kind of tacky if you ask me.
While you are free to make unsubstantiated assertions regarding the theory of evolution, that you make them does not mean that you are correct. Referring to my statements as "garbage" does not actually demonstrate that my statements are false.
"It is you who provided inaccurate rebuttal."
How was his rebuttal incorrect?
You running shotgun for Dimensio? Or is that you don't think he can handle his own rhetoric and needs help?
I did state how she was correct and how you were wrong. Just because you continually deny that I did does not make me wrong. You don't have a memory lapse, you just make claims that I didn't back up my statements. It must make you feel all cozy inside to continually deny the facts that are provided. Don't ask me to repeat them. Just keep hitting the back button on your keyboard. You don't have a problem going back millions of years for evo so just try going back a couple of weeks on the keyboard. Should be a cinch for an engineer.
100 Locate new crevo thread
105 Load stock of disruptive comments from [Troll Database]
110 Cruise thread for an evo's post
115 Post reply: "Evolution is trash. You're an idiot. Call me when a bird turns into a toad."
120 GOSUB 200.
130 Cruise thread for another evo's post
135 Post reply: "Evolution is only a theory. All evos are atheists. Hitler loved Darwin."
140 GOSUB 200.
145 Cruise thread for another evo's post
150 Post reply: "Go back to DU. Evolution is nonsense. Stop bashing my religion."
155 GOSUB 200.
160 Cruise thread for another evo's post
165 Post reply: [randomly selected text from any creationist website].
170 GOSUB 200.
180 GOTO 105
200 REM Subroutine
210 If evo replies, hit abuse button. Say: "This creep is very abusive. This thread is garbage."
220 If thread is moved to Chat or Backroom, or locked, or pulled, GOTO 100.
230 RETURN
For me to know and for you to find out. Drummerboy.
You have still provided no indication whatsoever that you have actually examined the referenced information that you dismissed as "garbage". Repeatedly ignoring that fact will not change it.
The RETURN is the next line, which kicks in if the thread hasn't been moved or killed.
But can you GOTO out of a subroutine letting the subroutine reach the RETURN statement? Wouldn't that leave the return pointer stuck on the stack, leading to a memory leak? Or have I just written too much assembly?
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