Behavior May Influence Evolution

eldavojohn writes "Pending your beliefs about evolution, National Geographic is running an interesting article on the influences of behavior on evolution. The study supports the controversial idea that an animal's behavior in response to environmental change can spur evolutionary adaptations. By adding a predator to an island where a species of lizards lived with no predators, they witnessed a quick shift in the average length of legs on the lizards. Long legs meant to escape were useless against the new larger predators while short legs became the dominant feature since they increased climbing ability (to trees the predators could not reach). For the finer details on the research, visit the Losos Lab Research Page."

Comments

I wish I were dead.

[Anonymous Coward]

Dead.

This Reminds Me...

[eno2001]

...of something I once saw on Carl Sagan's Cosmos Factor back in the 70s. The part about how natural selection is basically how aminals are inaffected by their environmets. He picked a part from biblical scripture to back himself up too. It was this passage where Moses or someone needed a bunch of wool yarn that was black and white striped. So he corralled his sheep (or goats, I can't remember which) into a pen and put some long poles in the ground painted with black and white stripes. The aminals after being in there for a few months started to develope striped coats due to natural selection. I always wondered how that sort of thing happens in nature. So this explains it all. The sheep must have been thinking what I'd think in their situation, "Those black and white poles are so hip and trendy. And here I am with my boring silly old white coat. I've must DO something about this"! So then after willing themselves to have black and white striped coats to accesorize the poles, it happened! Man this is going to save me a TON on hair colour at my salon!

Evolution

[EricJ2190]

I think the title should have been, "Outlook on Evolution".