Re:Some corals regrow after 'fatal' warming
by notthemessiah on Thursday October 10, 2019 @12:34PM
(#21216486)
How short do you think those "short bursts of rapid change" are?
Even the wikipedia article has an section on how common your misconception is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punctuated_equilibrium#Saltati...
Re:Some corals regrow after 'fatal' warming
by blix on Thursday October 10, 2019 @12:47PM
(#21216643)
I didn't say they couldn't be thousands of years, but suggesting hundreds of millenia ignores many observed events that have taken place on a much, much shorter time scale. The numbers referenced in the wikipedia article aren't even in their supposed citation, which is definitely not written by a supporter of the theory.
I choose grey wolves into chihuahuas because it's an example of a complex mammal undergoing significant genetic change over a much shorter time period than 100ky. For less complex animals there are even more dramatic examples.
Re:Some corals regrow after 'fatal' warming
by notthemessiah on Thursday October 10, 2019 @03:22PM
(#21218238)
I'm talking about evolution of different species, a much more significant change than variation within a species. Despite morphological and behavioral differences, wolves and dogs are still the same species. It took millions of years for fungi to evolve into decomposing wood.
Re:Some corals regrow after 'fatal' warming
by blix on Thursday October 10, 2019 @03:37PM
(#21218370)
There is disagreement about the evolution of those fungi. It does not appear to be as cut and dry as often presented.
https://www.pnas.org/content/113/9/2442
Evolution of new species may not be necessary to survive all environmental changes, and not all speciations are similar in terms of genetic difference. Coyotes can still breed with wolves and dogs.
It didn't take us a few hundred millenia to turn grey wolves into chihuahuas, and with the right stimulus nature could do it too.