Evolution, extinction, mass extinction, environmental change, habitat loss, competition, disease, genetics, species, flora, fauna.
Without evolution, there would not be as many species as there are now. Like my website, I went through stages in it's design process, like choosing my colour scheme, what I'm going to add to it, and deciding on things like a logo and so on. Then the evolution happens, where I develop the website and add more information, and everything else on it. The second process never really changes.
This is true in the animal kingdom. To a degree. I mean, they're not going to choose anything on the website. You get the picture. In the animal kingdom, we see species evolving all the time. This can be as little as a change to a bird's beak (see about the finches found by Charles Darwin), or a major change, like a fish coming out of the water to live on land.
Either way, evolution is kind of needed. Even if just to make something better. If you look at the development of dogs during the last century, you'll see a change in their appearance, as well as other smaller attributes that changed as a result of in-breeding to find the best traits. This is mostly to do with genetics. Just take a look on the Internet at pictures of Pugs from the early 1900s.
Evolution can only happen so far, and so what happens then?
That's right. When a species cannot change anymore to suit its needs, it will eventually become extinct. This can be for a number of reasons, including:
Watch this YouTube video from Colossal Cranium for more information:
Extinction can occur as the result of something happening within the environment, or also things that are out of it's control. Sometimes a species cannot cope with the changes, but also there are instances that it cannot control or adapt to so it can survive.
The word amphibian comes from the Greek word meaning 'double life', and this makes a frog's life adaptable to water and land. Although they have lived through five different extinction points, they are now on the verge on being fully entinct.
How fast does extinction happen? Well, that depends on the situation. If a species is living peacefully by the side of a volcano, and then that volcano erupts and kills everything in it's path, chances are that species is going to die fairly quickly. But on the other spectrum of that theory, the rate at which a species dies that has no major changes for hundreds of years, is not going to become extinct any time soon.
There is also a point in time that a mass extinction occurs. This is when every species of flora and fauna are destroyed beyond living. Historic scientists have found at least 5 instances where there were worldwide mass extinctions. They have found proof of this in the soil that they have tested, along with the fossil records and all sorts of data they have used to show evidence. With these 5 mass extinction points, 4 of them have wiped out 95% of living organims on the planet at that time.
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Animals, adaptations, functional, structural, behavioural, differences, competition, survival, eating, drinking, reproduction.
Animals have plenty of differences for different reasons, but why is this?
Well, put simply, it's to help them have the advantage to do the job they need to do. This can be for competition, for survival, to help them eat or drink, to get somewhere other animals can't, and so on.
There are three types of adaptation:
Structural adaptation: this is where the structure of the animal helps it to survive. A structural adaptation can also help it reproduce. A good example of this is a snail. It has a house on its back, which is a shell, and this enables it to hide away from predators, as well as allowing it to hibernate during the colder weather.
Behavioural adaptation: this is comprised of how an animal acts, whether that is to mate with another of its species, the pranks it plays in order to catch its prey, or how it acts within a community, cleaning and grooming each other. For example, a peafowl will spread its tail feathers to show authority, as well as use them to attract a female. This is a double adaptation, as it will show these feathers for competition against another male.
Functional adaptation: these are functions that the organism will do within their body to help them along. It is usually something done unconciously. An example of this would be a cow. When it has its offspring, it will produce milk. It doesn't just flick a switch and produce it, it's just a natural occurence. The calf will then have milk ready to drink and help make it strong.
A polar bear has black skin, and clear fur. We all know it to have white fur, and we assume they have pink skin. The black skin allows the polar bear to warm in the sun, and the clear hairs of the fur allow for the sun to go through and also provide warmth, as they are hollow.
Take a look at this YouTube video to clarify what I've said.
Well, in a way, yes. Humans have evolved from apes - Gorillas, not monkeys - and they also have similar features like opposable thumbs, where they can grip objects and use them. If you trace our evolutionary tree back far enough, you'll see changes in each evolution. At some point we wouldn't have had the thumbs, but we also wouldn't look like we do today.
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