Evolutionary biologists observe parallel, repeated evolution of cichlid fish in Nicaragua
Date: October 28, 2014
Source: Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141028082353.htm
Famous Harvard evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould once asked the question, "If one would rewind the tape of life, would evolution result in the same outcome?". The University of Konstanz conducted a study on evolution, specifically the evolution of the cichlid fish in Nicaraguan lakes that suggested the evolutionary trajectory would have been similar. They found that in the isolated new crater lakes of Nicaragua, which are perfect settings for evolution, isolated from the other lakes, the cichlid fish evolved differently from the fish in the nearby great lakes of Nicaragua. In the two totally separate crater lakes Apoyo and Xiloa, the cichlid fish evolved similar elongated bodies to adapt to their deep, clear lakes that differ from the ancestral population's shallow murky lakes. This phenotype is not typically found in the ancestral population but is found in both Apoyo and Xiloa, two completely separate populations which suggests evolution would have happened similarly if we "rewinded the tape of life". However, they also found that while the phenotype ended similarly, the evolutionary route between start to finish differed between the two lakes, which indicated that parallel adaptation to similar environments may lead to the same results by natural selection but it can happen by different evolutionary genetic routes.
This article tied to our unit on evolution because it discussed how these cichlid fish, when faced with an environment different from their ancestral environment, adapted by natural selection to become best suited to thrive and reproduce in said environment. It also touched on the chance of evolution, that evolution happens by chance and that while natural selection might point evolution in one way, the route it takes is still up to luck.
Famous Harvard evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould once asked the question, "If one would rewind the tape of life, would evolution result in the same outcome?". The University of Konstanz conducted a study on evolution, specifically the evolution of the cichlid fish in Nicaraguan lakes that suggested the evolutionary trajectory would have been similar. They found that in the isolated new crater lakes of Nicaragua, which are perfect settings for evolution, isolated from the other lakes, the cichlid fish evolved differently from the fish in the nearby great lakes of Nicaragua. In the two totally separate crater lakes Apoyo and Xiloa, the cichlid fish evolved similar elongated bodies to adapt to their deep, clear lakes that differ from the ancestral population's shallow murky lakes. This phenotype is not typically found in the ancestral population but is found in both Apoyo and Xiloa, two completely separate populations which suggests evolution would have happened similarly if we "rewinded the tape of life". However, they also found that while the phenotype ended similarly, the evolutionary route between start to finish differed between the two lakes, which indicated that parallel adaptation to similar environments may lead to the same results by natural selection but it can happen by different evolutionary genetic routes.
This article tied to our unit on evolution because it discussed how these cichlid fish, when faced with an environment different from their ancestral environment, adapted by natural selection to become best suited to thrive and reproduce in said environment. It also touched on the chance of evolution, that evolution happens by chance and that while natural selection might point evolution in one way, the route it takes is still up to luck.
How did their elongated bodies help the fish survive better?
ReplyDelete