Evolution can occur in less than 10 years

UC Riverside/ Amercian Naturalist via Eureka Alerts ^ | Iqbal Pittalwala

[Pharmboy]

That is pretty fast change...

[Borges]

Just look how much weight Rosie O’Donnell has gained in the last decade.

[Perdogg]

ping

[SkyDancer]

Before

After>

[Pharmboy]

...but no sexual reproduction there, either. Ha!

[ClearCase_guy]

They are equating Adaptation with Evolution.

From the standpoint of "the controversy" the biggest issue is: does one kind of animal give rise to another kind of animal? The adaptation seen in this population of guppies does not contribute to that debate.

[org.whodat]

Survival of the fittest, Survival of the fittest .

[Boiling Pots]

Does anyone dispute “fast” change?

[muawiyah]

Still the same species and as far as we can tell NO NEW GENES or even methylation changes.

Guppies have frequently gone from the salubrious environment of a home fish tank with power pump, regular feeding, perfect temperature RIGHT INTO THE TOILET and down the sewer, and still survived.

[outhousepatrol]

That nothing!... The country evolved from Capitalist to Fascist in less that 5 months!

[Pharmboy]

Evolution is defined as genetic change over time, sometimes leading to new species, sometimes sub-species, sometimes breeds or races.

[Recovering_Democrat]

correct. i’ve heard it described also as “microevoltion” or “macroevolution”. The former of course is observable...the latter is not. The former is change within a species or kind, and the latter—complete change of species or kind has not been demonstrated.

but they keep graspin’, don’t they? ;-)

[joejm65]

‘They are equating Adaptation with Evolution.’

Exactly. Adaptation is not evolution. If the guppies turned into Great Danes, then we’d see an example of evolution. Back to the drawing board...

[org.whodat]

Evolution: a: the historical development of a biological group (as a race or species) : phylogeny b: a theory that the various types of animals and plants have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations ; also : the process described by this theory

[stefanbatory]

ping for ya...put another pin in their bubble...

[org.whodat]

No you would be seeing magic dust!!

[edcoil]

So no predators and they grow larger since they eat more and grow... that is not evolution. After 10 years, they are still guppies.

[FiddlePig]

Call me about “evolution happening” when the guppies start walking out onto land.

[OldNavyVet]

Mutations happen; some of them improve their host’s life, some might be passed on to future generations. and some might lead to creation of new species.

Steve Jones, on page 170 of “Darwin’s Ghost,” writes: “DNA’s inability to copy itself without mistakes — mutation — means that evolution is inevitable.”

[Blueflag]

Amen! The fact that one body of water now has more ‘high-predation’ females **MIGHT** be a reflection of changes in the prominence of certain members of the gene pool AND their more successful reproduction, BUT that is NOT evolution.

If this article is about “evolution” then we should conclude that Swedes (dare I say Aryans) — blonde, fair, blue eyes — represent more highly evolved members of the human race than those in geographies and [older] gene populations in equatorial zones.

That of course is preposterous. We are all Homo sapiens sapiens — just like these are all the same species of ‘guppy’.