Feeding Birds in Winter Could Speed Evolution of Species
Without need to fly far for food, wing shapes changed rapidly, researchers say
Posted December 3, 2009
THURSDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Many people think evolution takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years, but it can happen much faster and new research shows exactly how: The simple act of feeding birds in winter appears to be having an effect on a population of birds.
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Researchers, who report their findings in the Dec. 3 online edition of Current Biology, said a single population of blackcap birds has split into two distinct groups in fewer than 30 generations. The population of birds did this despite breeding next to each other in the same forests; now the birds are as different from each other in some ways as those separated by hundreds of miles.
The difference between the groups can be found in their migration patterns, which changed after humans began feeding some of the birds during winter. "The new northwest migratory route is shorter, and those birds feed on food provided by humans instead of fruits as the birds that migrate southwest do," study author H. Martin Schaefer, of the University of Freiburg in Germany, said in a news release from the journal's publisher.
"As a consequence, birds migrating northwest have rounder wings, which provide better maneuverability but make them less suited for long-distance migration," he explained.
"Our study do ents the profound impact of human activities on the evolutionary trajectories of species," Schaefer said. "It shows that we are influencing the fate not only of rare and endangered species, but also of the common ones that surround our daily lives."
In the big picture, "this is a nice example of the speed of evolution," Schaefer noted. "It is something that we can see with our own eyes if we only look closely enough. It doesn't have to take millions of years."
http://health.usnews.com/articles/he...lution-of.html
"It doesn't have to take millions of years"
but when you do have 100s of 1000s or millions of years, you very definitely get "speciation" which the silly, deluded, ridiculous Bible-thumping creationists deny.
"Their" God (He's the Very Best, Better Than All The Rest) created all species a few 1000 years ago, along with all the fake geological record (He's a real Joker, always foolin around), and nothing has changed since then.
but but but the DNA hasn't changed.
They don't mention that, it could have..we'd have to get a hold of the full article.
I'd be very surprised if a change in wing shape would make it impossible for the two groups of birds to successfully reproduce with each other. Sounds more like variation within a species than development of a new species.
The article isn't arguing that a new species was created.
I was responding to the le of the thread.
I saw some show on Discovery Sunday. I think it was "Before Dinosaurs" and they where showing how manipulating bird DNA with todays birds that they could bring back traits from their dinosaur ancestors. The DNA was the same, just certain points are turned off at certain times during development.
For instance, they made one gene stay "on" causing a chicken embryo to grow a longer "dinosaur-like" tail. Another one they had grow some teeth on its beak. It was pretty interesting stuff.
Wow already first reply to the topic has insults and name calling. Are you that threaten by Creationists, you have to get the first punch in?
I can see by your at ude you must be a blast to debate with.
keep up the good work your really helping the other side.
So your saying they "Created" something?
Wow that must prove there "is " a creator? Was that the point your trying to make?
Speaking of bird and human interactions, there's like a thousand birds outside San Antonio Whataburgers every morning/evening.
Oh, c'mon, Mouse; just because you shaved your back and learned to drink from a cup, your species didn't change.
No, they didnt create the DNA. It was already there. They manipulated it to react as they presumed it did millions of years ago.... and what do you know, they where right!
instead of wings they're gonna grow claws and chase fat people around
ing awesome
the reemergence of dinosaurs!
I was wrong, the show was called Dinosaurs: Return to life?
So that means (if your married) you and your wife didn't create your children you just manipulated your own DNA?
Sounds to me like you Atheist have many double standards when it comes to creation. If the bible thumper's use it it's pie in the sky bull . if the scientist use it, it's called basic biology?
Another thing for you all in this topic, you may need to research "micro" and "macro" evolution there is a difference.
It depends what's in the cup and how much of it I drink.
Your sex analogy doesnt quite work here. The egg is already fertilized with a growing embryo inside before they do any manipulation.
It would be the equivalent of modifying a fetus.
But just to humor you....
Maybe I'm doing sex wrong but I have never put my semen under a microscope and modified the "secret message" that my soldiers are going to relay to the egg. So no, Im not "modifying" anything when Im shooting live rounds.
PS:
I just posted about that show because I saw it only yesterday and thought it was interesting. I didnt post it with the intention of starting another pointless debate.
Last edited by phyzik; 12-07-2009 at 04:06 PM.
Actually, these rapid genetic variations (denoted by change in phenotype) contradict the notion that millions or billions of years are required to drive variation...
All it takes are for a couple of pre-existing genes within a species to be turned on or off. And as noted by the article, the effects of this process can be achieved in relatively few generations... not hundreds of thousands or millions of generations... as we are constantly led to believe.
Darwin believed (or rather presumed) his Galapagos finches required hundreds of thousands of years to adapt to their particular niches... it has been shown however, that such variations can be spurred within a matter of years (tagged finches taken off of mainland Ecuador developed similar features when relocated to the Cayman Islands after only a couple of generations)... Darwin's observations were ingenuously notable... his conclusions from those observations... not so much...
But... each side is going to see in these articles only what they want to see... regardless of the truths in the biological processes at play...
Last edited by Phenomanul; 12-07-2009 at 04:46 PM.
Then why reply? one post is not a debate, but replying to me again and again one might feel a person likes to debate. My bad I will remember that in the future, besides I wouldn't want to upset you again, who knows what you might bring up this time to belittle me.
And I apologize to the topic starter I forgot about her Memo: she wants people to remember about her before you engage in conversations.
being in a hurry before this laptop battery dies out , I didn't even bother to see who the OP was.
carry on everyone...............
we TOLD YOU slavery affected black athletes
Where's the part about the new species?
I can see it now.....they crap on your windshield, then rub YOUR nose in it!
Wow, I think you must be re ed.
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