Re: The Beak of the Finch
JHOFMANN@CCVAX.FULLERTON.EDU
Fri, 21 Jul 1995 20:14:32 -0800 (PST)Greetings,
In response to Terry Gray's comments on _The Beak of the Finch_,
I have a few comments based on my own recent reading. First, the
book jolted my understanding of how closely related many distinct
species are. Critics of evolutionary theory often complain that
all that natural selection accounts for are insignificant variations
within a given species. These complaints sometimes reduce to questions like,
"how do you get an elephant from a fish?", or something similar.
So, I found the Grants' work on "hybrids" quite interesting since
they interpret it as a possible indication that under the extreme
selection pressure of the Galapagos islands, new species may well
be in production through the rare cross-species mating they are
observing. The relevant research requires considerable patience, so
let's hope conditions remain favorable for it to continue.
Secondly, I can see how Phil Johnson might chuckle over
the Grant's detailed chronicle of how natural selection has
operated as a stabilizing factor in the case of some species.
That is, years of drought and years of flooding have had opposite
effects on some species and thus have in effect neutralized
each other. Again, let's hope that the research can continue so
we aren't forever doomed to speculate about what "might"
happen in the long run!
Jim Hofmann
Cal State Fullerton
jhofmann@ccvax.fullerton.edu