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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
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To: Neocon who wrote (24975)7/20/2000 12:06:18 PM
From: TigerPaw  Read Replies (1) of 769667
 
the variations are normally so minor ...
Right, with minor variations diluted through the population and precise copying the question really becomes how does a really new species ever get started? That's where the punctuated half of the theory of punctuated/equilibrium comes to play. One in a while, less than a dozen times in the earth's history, there are selection events which are extreme to say the least. These range from the massive global polution when blue green algae spread oxygen through the atmosphere to giant comets hitting straight on. The net result is that most organisms are dead regardless of what they adapted to. Fortunately the ocean is one of the more resistant areas to catastrophe and the basic algae, bacteria, and smaller sea creatures survive. The few survivors on land and in the ocean will have, like the tree-kangaroo, growing resources and few competitors. They will spread and multiply and spread and multiply until they finally run short of resources, compete against their closest buddies and specialize into a new niche. Most species pop up in response to such an event. After that they just adapt and specialize more and create variations like red-wolf/grey-wolf. There are other times that new species may appear, but at a much reduced rate.
TP
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