http://www.peavler.org/arguendo/2009/12/17/newly-evolved-finch-appears-on-the-galapagos-islands/ scientia vincere tenebras Wed, 14 Sep 2011 13:34:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.peavler.org/arguendo/2009/12/17/newly-evolved-finch-appears-on-the-galapagos-islands/comment-page-1/#comment-81 Bud Hodgin Fri, 18 Dec 2009 21:45:46 +0000 http://www.peavler.org/arguendo/?p=738#comment-81 An excellent observation by the team of Rosemary & Peter Grant. This couple has been studing natural selection among finches on the small island of Daphne Major for at least 30 years. The Pulitzer Prize winning book,THE BEAK OF THE FINCH published in 1993 and written by Jonathan Weiner is a gem and a must read for anyone interested in evolution and in particular anyone interested in natural selection that can be demonstrated in as short a time period as a year. An excellent observation by the team of Rosemary & Peter Grant. This couple has been studing natural selection among finches on the small island of Daphne Major for at least 30 years. The Pulitzer Prize winning book,THE BEAK OF THE FINCH published in 1993 and written by Jonathan Weiner is a gem and a must read for anyone interested in evolution and in particular anyone interested in natural selection that can be demonstrated in as short a time period as a year.

]]> http://www.peavler.org/arguendo/2009/12/17/newly-evolved-finch-appears-on-the-galapagos-islands/comment-page-1/#comment-78 Jimalakirti Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:14:20 +0000 http://www.peavler.org/arguendo/?p=738#comment-78 This is a very exciting article. The Grants first noticed that a larger finch from another island had arrived, and its children had a different beak and a different song from the mother bird's family. They observed this line through seven generations. During this time a drought reduced the population of these "mutant" birds to two, a brother and a sister. Since that time they have refused to breed with the original species. The scientists do not claim to have seen speciation yet. How many generations of separation are required before we call the family a new species? This is a good piece of popular scientific writing. The authors anticipate and answer some of the most likely objections that might arise. (Some valuable information that strengthens this article is in the links to outside information. It is a good idea to follow up links if the author offers them to you. Often the author will take what was in a link for granted, thinking he said it himself. (Or at least old men like myself do that.) This is a very exciting article. The Grants first noticed that a larger finch from another island had arrived, and its children had a different beak and a different song from the mother bird’s family. They observed this line through seven generations. During this time a drought reduced the population of these “mutant” birds to two, a brother and a sister. Since that time they have refused to breed with the original species.
The scientists do not claim to have seen speciation yet. How many generations of separation are required before we call the family a new species?
This is a good piece of popular scientific writing. The authors anticipate and answer some of the most likely objections that might arise. (Some valuable information that strengthens this article is in the links to outside information. It is a good idea to follow up links if the author offers them to you. Often the author will take what was in a link for granted, thinking he said it himself. (Or at least old men like myself do that.)

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