This week in National Geographic, there is a cool book review of Darwin Comes to Town by evolutionary biologist, Menno Schilthuizen. Please let me know right away if you can't see this article, because it totally relates to what we are talking about in class.
In the interview with the author, Schilthuizen talks about how cities are driving evolutionary change. For your final blog post of the year, you will read the interview. After you read the interview, you will write a scholarly paragraph about punctuated equilibrium. In your paragraph you will explain how extreme urban environments are speeding up evolution. You need to give at least
two examples from the interview. If you look up other reviews of this book, there are a ton of examples out there. Please explain how cities are causing these organisms to evolve more quickly than the millions of years Darwin suggested with his theory of Natural Selection.
National Geographic Book Talk:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/05/urban-living-drives-evolution-in-surprising-way/?beta=true
Financial Times:
https://www.ft.com/content/64422438-0833-11e8-9650-9c0ad2d7c5b5
HIREC:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3352552/
After you have written your response, please comment on at least one other person's post.
Punctuated equilibrium is when evolution occurs in rapid bursts once in a while. Urban environments are “powerhouses of evolution” where animals diverse as bobcats and blackbirds are adapting to their new surroundings. Urban environments speed up evolution because due to pollution, noisiness, artificial light, and lot of areas of concrete, subspecies disappear and some adapt to other new conditions. Because of mutations, evolution of species speeds up. This gives a species the ability to survive in extreme environments. This is called HIREC, human-induced rapidly evolutionary change. Cities causing evolution to be evolving more quickly contradicts to Darwin’s theory because he believed evolution has to be slow and steady. Multiple generations per year can accumulate evolutionary changes much more quickly than humans can. For example the Hawk’s Beard which plants in the French city of Montpellier. The plant gene that invest in more heavy seeds will have an advantage in the city.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that scientists are finding these patterns in evolution not only in animals but in plants too.
DeleteLots of organisms around the world are evolving a lot faster than they should be, and this is because of punctuated equilibrium in city environments. After reading the interview about Darwin’s theories, I learned that since more and more urban environments are taking over the world, the different species that live there have to find a way to survive quicker, which means they will need to evolve to certain adaptations even faster than usual. One example of this is the Hawk’s Beard plant in Montpellier. The Hawk’s Beard plant produces small and big seeds, which help them to survive in the windy areas, because the small seeds have parachute like pouches that keep them stable. However, due to the developing urban environment, the air is getting polluted, and the parachute pouches in the plants, are getting filled with things such as tarmac, which causes them to not be able to germinate. Since the population of smaller seeds are declining, the bigger seeds are becoming more and more common, because they have a better survival advantage, which means that they are evolving a lot faster than normal. Another example from the interview were the bobcats in Hollywood and the bobcats in Northern California. Since the bobcats are separated by major highways, it has resulted in them living in two completely different environments. Due to a mange epidemic in LA, there was a huge exposure of mites, which caused a higher mortality rates among the bobcats in the Hollywood region. The increased mortality also resulted in an increased natural selection for the bobcats in the Northern California area which helped them because their genes evolved quicker, and gave them a resistance to mange, so they were able to survive attributable to the quicker evolution they had gone through. After reading this article, I learned that cities really do have a huge impact on evolution because urban environments make it so much harder for organisms to survive, so in order to do this, they need to evolve faster because it is a fight for their life.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting take on evolution.
DeleteI think that it is crazy how much we have an impact on all species!
DeleteI read this article about puncuated equilibrium and it was very interesting. To start off the environment in urban cities is speeding up evolution and it can be harmful aor good for some organisms. One example of how environment is changing evolution is the Hawk’s-Beard plants in the French city of Montpellier. This plant makes two seeds which are heavy seeds and small seeds. The plant’s genes invest more in the heavy seeds, which fall to the floor and germinate at the foot of the parent plant. Those genes have an advantage in the city, which has resulted in a change in as little as 10 to 20 years. Another example is the bobcat in Hollywood. There are two bobcat populations that are divided by two highways. In Los Angeles, there was a mange epidemic caused by exposure to mites, which resulted in high mortality. In the section of the bobcat population that is cut off by the 101 freeway, genes evolved to make these bobcats more resistant to mange.
ReplyDeleteI thought the bobcat example was interesting as well.
DeleteWow that's very interesting!
DeleteWhen I read the article about punctuated equilibrium I was very interested. Evolution is quickening due to changes in the environment. Tons of animals are going extinct and are becoming endangered due to human interaction. I thought this might be related to this article. I was correct with my prediction because this article explained how pollution in cities is harming the nature within it. Since the epidemic in LA, mites raised the mortality rate of bobcats. The bobcats are evolving faster now because they are fighting for survival after being exposed to these deadly epidemics. Sudden factors like these are examples of punctuated equilibrium and show how sudden species can go endangered when we least except it. It also shows how evolution can happen quicker in some species than others.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting too!
DeleteIt's fascinating how much we impact the organisms and environment around us!
DeleteI read about punctuated equilibrium. When an urban city starts an environment, it speeds up evolution and can either help or harm organisms. The Hawk's Beard plants from Montpellier is a prime example. The plant makes 2 heavy seeds and small seeds. And since the plant prioritizes heavy seeds, they get an advantage from the city when the seeds germinate right at the parent plant. This gives the plant a change in as little as 10 to 20 years. Another example is bobcats from Hollywood. There are 2 bobcat populations that are separated by 2 highways. In LA, there was a mange epidemic that was caused by mite exposure which resulted in mortality. In the section of bobcats cut off by the 101 freeway, genes had evolved to make these bobcats resistant to mange.
ReplyDeleteGood job
DeleteI read the article about punctuated equilibrium. In the article I learned that urban areas are speeding up evolution as it is bring species closer and also separating the species. Bobcats in Northern LA have been cut off by the 101 freeway these two sides are different as they showed differences in DNA and Bobcats that were cut off by the freeway showed more favorable as they evolved to manage the disease. I found this to be very since a separation developed such as change.
ReplyDeletegood example!
DeleteI thought the Bobcats DNA change was cool!
DeleteI read this to and it was very interesting.
Deletegood explanation
DeleteAfter reading the article "Evolution and behavioral responses to human-induced rapid environmental change" it is clear that humans are controlling evolution through creating geographical barriers between populations, such as bobcats cut off by the 101 freeway, in which scientists can see differences in the DNA between the populations on either side. Since the bobcats didn't have the opportunity to breed, they lost some of their alleles that only the populations on either side possess. I thought this article was very interesting because this might pose problems to the advancement of species in the near future.
ReplyDeleteI also found this article very interesting. I wonder if people are going to do anything to change this
DeleteI read the article about punctuated equilibrium. I learned that some species are evolving faster due to urban areas bringing different species closer together or even separating them apart. Hawk's Beard plants in Montpellier. The plant makes 2 heavy and small seeds and since the plant gets more heavy seeds, they get a good advantage from the city as they germinate at the parent plant.
ReplyDeleteI read the article,"In Cities, Wildlife Evolves Astonishingly Fast." In this article, I learned that punctuated equilibrium is when a species is every quicker than expected. Most of this is taking place in urban areas due to the amount of people that are so concentrated in one spot. This amount of people makes other species adapt to them. For example, the London Underground Mosquito has adapted. Its ancestor was a mosquito that lived above ground and fed on birds, but now it lives underground and feeds on humans in places like cellars, basements and subways. This happened in just about 70 years! Another example of punctuated equilibrium are crows in cities. They have adapted to using cars to crack their walnuts for them by putting them in front of a car and letting it run over it. This shows how animals are beginning to adapt to us, the dominant species of the world.
ReplyDeleteI find it super cool but also worried that these organisms are adapting to us because it shows that we are majorly effecting the environment for good or bad.
DeleteIt's an interesting idea that these animals are adapting directly because of us
DeleteWhile reading the article about evolution in urban environments, I learned that many believe that cities are the worst place for evolution because they see them as “anti nature wastelands of concrete and steel.” However, evolutionary biologists believe that they are the perfect place for evolution. Diverse animals in the cities are adapting to their environment and their surroundings and it’s providing many opportunities for scientific discovery. For example, mosquitoes in London have adapted to their environment in the city, and have developed different ways of living and reproducing in the underground subway compared to an above ground mosquito. This is also caused by mutations. It is happening so rapidly because the habitat of the organisms is in the city, where humans create new ecological systems.
ReplyDeleteI agree that cities are a bad place for species to live in.
DeleteAfter reading more in depth on the puncuated equilibrium I found some parts of the article interesting/informative. It is shown how humans are expediting the evolution of sprecies and also seperating them by changing their environment. One example of how environment is changing evolution is the Hawk’s-Beard plants in the French city of Montpellier. This plant makes two seeds which are either heavy seeds or really small seeds. The plant’s genes invest more in the heavy seeds, which fall to the floor and germinate at the foot of the parent plant. Although it sounds like a dissadvantage those alleles have adapted to have an advantage and be dominant in the city. Another example is the bobcat in Hollywood. There are two bobcat populations that are divided by two highways. In Los Angeles, there was a big epidemic amongst the bobcats who were exposured to mites, which resulted in high mortality. The bobcat population that is cut off by the 101 freeway, genes evolved to make these bobcats more resistant to these mites; allowing them to live longer
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is really interesting how humans are speeding up evolution among different organisms because of urban areas.
DeleteAs in the 5 statements, it is a constant struggle for survival. Without these species evolving to better survive in their environment, they just wouldn’t survive. One example which I found very interesting was how the crows in Japan are putting walnuts in front of slow moving cars. Not only did the crows figure out cars would break the walnuts, but slow moving cars would break them more efficiently. Their evolution wasn’t genetic, but they evolved in the sense of knowledge, and being clever enough to figure these tasks out. However, animals aren’t the only ones to evolve in such a short period of time. The Hawk’s Beard plants are also evolving to further the survival of the species as a whole since it’s producing bigger seeds, making them capable to germinate. Overall, Darwin underestimated the world, like Malthus, and many other scientists. He wasn’t the first to underestimate and he won’t be the last.
ReplyDeleteThis shows how smart birds really are! I have a bird and he would drop food from his cage that he didn't like and would let my dog eat it so I wouldn't find out.. Evolution? No. Smarts? Yes.
DeleteThe book “Darwin Comes To Town” covers how cities and human made structures are creating a more rapid evolution for all organisms. It states that cities are “powerhouses of evolution”. Throughout every city there are organisms that are forced to change to the man made locations. This includes the London underground mosquitoes.This species has adapted to laying eggs and surviving without needing to be constantly feeding on people because they live primarily in underground locations like bridges or tunnel systems. This whole process of city life evolution is called “HIREC” or “Human induced rapid evolutionary change”. Another involves the bobcats of Hollywood. These cats were split in half due to freeways and buildings. This caused each one to have a new evolutionary change based on where they were located. Although this somewhat goes against Darwin’s theory, it states that evolutionary comes with generations which, for some species, could come every year or two. This is why we see this rapid change in city settings.
ReplyDeleteI read the article about punctuated equilibrium and I learned a lot. First, I learned that due to changes in the environment, evolution is happening a lot quicker. Pollution in cities are harming the species and nature that live in it. Cities have a lot more pollution than rural areas and this is causing evolution to speed up. The deadly epidemics are causing the bobcats to evolve faster because they are causing bobcats to adapt to the environment changes. The bobcats are struggling to survive with these new changes so they needed to adapt. This is an example of punctuated equilibrium because this shows that certain things that happen in an environment can cause species to evolve really fast. They need to adapt, so they are forces to evolve quicker than normal.
ReplyDeleteWow!Really interesting.
DeletePunctuated Equilibrium is the theory that new species evolve suddenly over brief periods of time, which is soon followed by longer periods which there is no genetic change. Currently organisms are evolving much faster than they should be this is because of city environments having a punctuated equilibrium. After reading the article, “In Cities, Wildlife Evolves Astonishingly Fast”, urban environments are said to be speeding things up because of new adaptations. Cities have urban heat islands, artificial light, and concrete. Species either have to disappear or adapt quickly to these new environments. New mutations also make the evolution of species occur faster; this is because, these mutations give species the ability to survive in extreme environments. One example of how the environment is changing evolution is how bobcats after being exposed to mites, and having high mortality, and then how genes involved and now these bobcats gained more resistance to them. Another example is crows that have found much more clever ways to eat their walnuts, these personality genes allow them to be better problem solvers. It is believed that Darwin underestimated the speed that a punctuated equilibrium can happen, if you have multiple generations per year you would be able to have these changes much more quickly.
ReplyDeleteI agree
DeleteAfter reading the interview done by National Geographic I have learned that Urban Cities are currently speeding up evolution much faster than Darwin thought it would happen. The first example given by the article that supports this idea has to do with Mosquitos. One type evolved so that in order to reproduce it wouldn’t need to feed on a human unlike its previous organisms, this is because the location of this species is not so easily accessible by humans. Giving the Mosquitos a disadvantage if they wanted to reproduce but couldn’t feed. The second example given by the article talks about blackbirds, which in certain areas were used to relying on cars in order to crack open walnuts that allowed them to feed. However, in an area with too many cars or too little, this strategy was not so reliable. Instead birds developed the habit of dropping walnuts from a high distance to crack them. In an effort to keep up with a rapid growing city these animals are evolving and all these adaptations are happening over a short period of time. Thus going against Darwin’s entire idea of evolution being slow and steady.
ReplyDeleteThe crows really interested me too! I think it's cool how they use their environment to make life easier.
DeleteI think it's crazy how fast this all happened!
Delete
ReplyDeleteI read the National Geographic article, “In Cities, Wildlife Evolves Astonishingly Fast”. This article mainly focuses on punctuated equilibrium. Due to changes in the environment, evolution is happening at a faster rate than previously. Pollution in cities are harming wildlife because cities produce more pollution than rural areas, causing evolution to speed up. The deadly epidemics are causing species to evolve faster in order to adapt to the environment changes.
An example of punctuated equilibrium is the bobcats, this shows that certain events in an environment can cause species to evolve quickly. Sadly, in order to survive, these animals have no choice but to evolve in order to reproduce and keeps the species thriving.
The theory and process of punctuated equilibrium can be explained by species suddenly evolving in a short period of time. Throughout urban cities and areas, this process has been occurring frequently because of the vast and concentrated population in those areas. Environmentalist have noticed an increase in speed caused by the new adaptations of the organisms in that environment. These mutations better equip the organisms to work and survive in their homes. When the crows discovered more efficient ways to crack open their walnuts for food, they developed genes allowing them to be become more favorable problem solvers. In addition, the Hawk’s Beard plants are evolving, as well, in order to extend the survival rate of the species by producing larger seeds capable of germinating.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting!
DeleteI find it very believable that evolution is speeding up in urban/city areas because of its environment.
DeleteIn the article that I read it talks about how organism in cities are rapidly developing and evolving. This is called punctuated equilibrium. Since the city environment is so hash it almost makes the organism that live in there adapt to their environment or die. This cause it to happen really fast. HIREC means giving a species an ability to survive in a certain climate. Even though darwin said that evolution should be slow and steady in the cities its follows and does not follow this rule at the same time. It follows its because comparing the life time of some of the organism that are evologing in the cites to our life time it is just a little bit faster. But on the other hand once he's generations evolve and we can see the changes that is to fast to be slow and steady in Darwin's eyes. This is one examples from berkeley.edu “ For example, over many generations of feeding at local birdfeeders, Tucson house finches evolved longer and wider beaks that are better for cracking open the tough sunflower seeds with which these feeders are usually stocked” . Another example from the same website is “city-dwelling anole lizards in Puerto Rico evolved longer, stickier toes, which seem to be better for climbing over hard surfaces”.
ReplyDeleteVery well put!
DeleteI read this article about puncuated equilibrium and it was very interesting. To start off the environment in urban cities is speeding up evolution and it can be harmful aor good for some organisms. One example of how environment is changing evolution is the Hawk’s-Beard plants in the French city of Montpellier. This plant makes two seeds which are heavy seeds and small seeds. The plant’s genes invest more in the heavy seeds, which fall to the floor and germinate at the foot of the parent plant. Those genes have an advantage in the city, which has resulted in a change in as little as 10 to 20 years. Another example is the bobcat in Hollywood. There are two bobcat populations that are divided by two highways. In Los Angeles, there was a mange epidemic caused by exposure to mites, which resulted in high mortality. In the section of the bobcat population that is cut off by the 101 freeway, genes evolved to make these bobcats more resistant to mange.
ReplyDeletei like the example about the bobcats living in Hollywood
DeleteAnimals are becoming more capable of change due to their discovery of how to manipulate and make use of human maintenance in urban settings. An example is the crows and different birds in the urban landscape. Birds in urban areas were proven to have shorter beaks and avoid migration. This makes sense as they have begun to adapt to their landscape. In a way, it’s similar to the theory that states “if you don’t have it, you lose it”. Apart of the reason things are beginning to evolve so fast is because of the much heavier influence now than there was before. Animals are forced to adapt to their new ecosystem and after a while, the factors in this ecosystem really start to weigh in. Another example is the bobcats in the city versus the ones in just North in the highways. They found that despite these bobcats being the same species, there still is a major signifigant difference.
ReplyDeletePunctuated Equilibrium is the theory that new species evolve suddenly over brief periods of time. The species are evolving much faster due to city environments changing. The cities are turning so harsh it forces the species to adapt or die. Cities are getting heat islands, artificial light, and concrete. All of which species aren't too used to- causing them to adapt quickly. HIREC means giving a species an ability to survive in a certain climate. Darwin said that evolution would be slow and steady everywhere but in cities it is showing to be much faster. Bobcats are learning to be more resistant to mites and in return the mites evolve causing a circle of evolution rather fast. It is believed that darwin underestimated the speed that punctuated equilibrium can occur in cities and how that affects the environment.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about punctuated equilibrium, i found it really interesting that it can be explained by species around us evolving slowly and over a long period of time, but some can speed up out of nowhere. There are a few factors that can speed up evolution such as mutations. In urban areas, there is more population, which means more pollution, which causes for the process to speed up a bit more. Another example would be when the bobcats were introduced to the mites, they adapted to this change and gained new adaptations to account for the mites.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the National Geographic article about punctuated equilibrium in urban areas. This is occuring because of the ever changing environment these areas. This forces the animals to constantly adapt and evolve. One example of this is the Hawk’s-Beard plant where the lighter seeds that float away onto concrete in the wind are disappearing for the heavier ones that stay on the soil. Another example is the Bobcats in LA that are affected by the highway have become better suited to fight off disease.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI read the article about punctuated equilibrium. I learned that some species are evolving faster due to urban areas bringing different species closer together or even separating them apart. Hawk's Beard plants in Montpellier. The plant makes 2 heavy and small seeds and since the plant gets more heavy seeds, they get a good advantage from the city as they germinate at the parent plant.
I read Cities are affecting evolution. The article talked about how cities are speeding up evolution by forcing animals to adapt quickly or die. It also talked about how specific species are adapting really quick. For example In the Netherlands mosquitos are evolving as well as coyotes.Lastly it talked about how species don’t breed with other species in the same area because they have become so different because of the city. Overall this article talked about how cities have greatly impacted evolution.
ReplyDeleteI read the article written by National Geographic. In the article, it talks about animals, plants and insects adapting to the urban environment. I was very fascinated by the London Underground mosquito and how it affected people who hid during the 1940 Blitz. The species has evolved originally from "culex pipiens". The species feeds on human blood and mates one on one. This species has evolved in unique ways throughout many years and the only way they would be a miracle if it would become a unified species down the line.
ReplyDeleteCities are affecting the speed of evolution by forcing organisms to adapt to the unique conditions that Charles Darwin could never have imagined. In cities such as London, human-induced rapid evolutionary change (HIREC) has occurred in the local organisms like mosquitos. The London Underground Mosquitos are genetically different than other mosquitos in the world. They feed on human blood, mate one on one, and the female doesn’t require a blood meal before it lays eggs, as an aboveground mosquito does. Another example of HIREC and punctuated equilibrium in cities are, Crows in the city of Sendai Japan. They have found a clever way to crack walnuts, they discovered that it’s easier to take a walnut and put it in front of the wheel of a slowly moving vehicle. These instances would have never happened if it wasn’t for the developments of big cities made by humans around the world. Animals are forced to adapt to the conditions by finding ways to incorporate their surroundings into their way of life. Charles Darwin underestimated the time that evolution could occur. Some animals produce many generations in a short time, which speeds up the evolution of that animal up, different from humans which have one generations approximately every twenty years.
ReplyDeleteI read the article about how cities are affecting evolution. It talks about punctuated equilibrium which is when species suddenly evolve over a short period of time. In the article it talks about how the population in urban/ city areas are where this process takes place. Pollution is also harming wildlife in cities which is in turn causing evolution to speed up. All of this shows that the environment can effect evolution and speed things up.
ReplyDeleteI read the article about punctuated equilibrium. Punctuated equilibrium is when evolution occurs in rapid bursts. environment in urban cities is speeding up evolution and it can be harmful are good for some organisms. Animals are becoming endangered due to human interaction. Pollution in cities are having a bad effect on the nature and makes the environment unsafe. Species can evolve different from radiation or pollution.
ReplyDeleteThe article that I read was very interesting. I think it really shows how intelligent and underestimated animals are. the fact that humans can totally mess up their homes/environment, and they are able to adapt to it and find new ways to thrive is amazing. I really liked the example of the crows getting cars t help break the walnuts on the street for them. Without us even realizing it, animals are using us humans to help provide for them.
ReplyDeleteorganisms who live in city's evolve much faster than animals who don't. Menno Schilthuizen went as far to say urban areas are powerhouses of evolution. One example of this is the London under ground mosquito female mosquitoes evolved to no longer need blood before giving birth like there above ground counter parts. Anouther exzample are the bobcats in LA they were split off by high ways and because of this the bobcats evolved sepratly.
ReplyDeleteThe different ways organisms can evolve due to different conditions is fascinating
DeleteI think it's very interesting how animals in the cities are evolving much faster than other animals. Humans in a sense have created their own geographic boundary via highways and buildings which eliminated a large percentage of the allele frequency. I also think that it's interesting that the more generations per year a species has the faster it evolves, which totally makes sense because they have a higher chance of a random mutation, thus is the example of the underground London mosquito. Animals are also getting smarter and using human resources like the Japanese crows using the cars to crack their walnuts for them. I wonder what changes we will see in animals in the near (in terms of evolution) future? Will humans evolve, or is there no need to evolve?
ReplyDeleteI read the article about punctuated equilibrium. I learned that urban areas are speeding up evolution this makes species closer and it also separates the species. I learned that bobcats in Northern LA have been cut off by the 101 freeway, these bobcats have evolved to handle the disease than other bobcats. because of this drastic change these two sides are different because they showed differences in DNA. I found this to be very interesting since a separation in environment can developed such as change.
ReplyDeleteIn the National Geographic article, it talks about how specific organisms have quickly evolved around city areas, otherwise known as punctuated equilibrium. For example, mosquitos living around subway stations have evolved to not need blood to lay eggs. This shows how fast a species can adapt to extreme environments. Another example is the population of bobcats across the highway that evolved to be more resistant to mange due to natural selection. These harsh environments that are stripped of these organisms usual resources force them to quickly adapt for survival, hence this fast evolution near cities.
ReplyDeleteIn the article Menno Schilthuizen talks about the punctuated equilibrium, or rapid evolution, of the city. The extreme environments created by these large urban developments is one cause of the death and adaption of subspecies. An example of this would be the carrion crows putting the walnuts onto the highway for cars to open the nuts for them. Another reason is because of human-induced rapid evolutionary change which occurs because of humans creating a new habitat and ecological situation. This is shown by the genetic differences in the mosquitoes on the Piccadilly Line and the mosquitoes on Bakerloo Line. This is interesting because even though Darwin was the "creator" of the concept of evolution he still didn't fully understand all parts of it, he focused on gradualism but not punctuated equilibrium.
ReplyDeleteThis article explains how urban life drives evolution at a high rate due to us changing the environment. One example would be the crows, who put walnuts under cars so that they would open automatically. This is a big example of animals getting smarter. A second example of evolution would be mosquitoes in London adapting to their environment in the city. The live in the underground subway which is a survival strategy that puts them at an advantage compared to above ground insects.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the interview with Menno Schilthuizen, it is clear that as a result of an ever-expanding urban areas, many populations of animals are quickly evolving to adapt to this new environment. This relatively quick process directly contrasts the idea proposed by Charles Darwin that evolution takes millions of years. For example, the London Underground Mosquito, first discovered in the 1940's by English soldiers escaping the Blitzkrieg attacks in London, evolved in an environment completely isolated from other mosquitoes. This resulted in many changes that granted it the title of a new species. This applies to plants as well, with the Hawk's-Beard plants in Montpelier developing heavier seeds due to its constrained environment around roads and highways.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIn Urban environments, animals are adapting to different things. Urban evolution gets animals speed up evolution because due to pollution, noises, and areas of concrete. Certain Animals need to adapt and get use to the new world that is around them. These adaptations help species to survive more quickly than ever. For example, “ where animals as diverse as blackbirds and bobcats are adapting to their new surroundings, with startling results”. Birds have adapted to putting walnuts on the street and having cars crack them. Darwin’s theory states that evolution must be slow and steady. But in today’s big cities, it has gone very quickly.
The concept of punctuated equilibrium was perfectly explained HIREC article. I learned that organisms that live in a big city must evolve and adapt super fast or they will die. Because humans are industrializing so fast it creates an unnatural living conditions for the animals. So it kind of goes against the laws of evolution because the evolution is occurring so fast unlike how it supposed to be, slow and steady.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article "The Last Butterfly," I was shocked that butterfly population has dropped that much. I believe that if everyone planted milkweed then we can slowly bring back up the population and save the monarchs from extinction. Another way that could help is to stop using pesticides or use less pesticides because even though the monarchs aren't the target, they are still being affected.
ReplyDeleteIn the National Geographic article, Menno Schilthuizen states that “Urban environments are in fact “powerhouse of evolution,” where animals as diverse as blackbirds and bobcats are adapting to their new surroundings with startling results” (Worrall 1). The author is trying to say that with all of the new and constantly changing environments and climates, different animals and species are evolving in different ways now. For example, mosquitoes have evolved in different ways and now there is a new mosquito species called the culex pipiens molestus. They have evolved in ways that are different to the above ground mosquito because they live underground, it feeds on human blood, mates on one and the female doesn’t require a blood meal before it lays eggs. They have also adapted to a certain place and have not mixed their genes. I think that this helps the mosquitos evolve and grow faster and without complications like the mixing of genes and new species growing. I think that this is not a good thing because then there will be too many of one species which could harm part of the environment.
ReplyDelete