Darwinism proved! Hawaiian crickets converge on no chirp

It's not possible to rule out that flatwinged crickets were always there are very rare (or mutating into existence and dropping back out) but it's clear from this research that two separate mutations are responsible for the trait in the different islands. It remains true that the island have different mutations which arose separately and recently. wd400

Wd400, in the video I posted Dr Zuk suggests the mutation was "burbling along at a very low level" and you would not be looking for it. She continues "the mutation could have knocked back, knocked back" but there all along. Maybe it was a vestigal organ:) And I will venture to guess additional flatwings will show up in other populations now that they are famous. ppolish

No, Zuk looked for flatwings in Oahu and didn't find them till 95. It's hard to imagine flatwings having much of a presence prior to the fly's arrival because of the mating call. wd400

@wd00"Not likely – Zuk looked at wings on all islands quite closely and prior to the arrivial of the flies silent males would have a hard time reproducing." Ah, so you admit that that the mutation was present in the population prior to this sudden jump in mutant numbers, then. VunderGuy

VunderGuy, Not likely - Zuk looked at wings on all islands quite closely and prior to the arrivial of the flies silent males would have a hard time reproducing. wd400

How did the flys get cricket ears on their bodies (cricket style) instead of fly antennae on their heads (fly style)? THAT is a cool trick. Cooler than flatwings multiplying as nonflatwings get eaten. The fly larvae grow inside the cricket. Did the fly get their cricket ears there/then? Are sapiens becoming fat cows because of their diet? ppolish

Flatwings are present on the Big Island now. Now that we are looking. 2% of Big Island crickets are currently flatwing. I predict Evolution coming. I smell Convergence. I predict some Randomness coming to Big Island. ppolish

@wd400 "the two islands have different mutations which arose separately and recently." Or... such variation already existed in the population before hand and there wasn't enough done to find out that variation, which people are now beginning to notice. VunderGuy

PPolish, The paper is here, the two islands have different mutations which arose seperately and recently. wd400

Thanks ppolish!,,, as a side note, I've always thought the world be far more like a horror film if we were the size of insects. I mean just imagine having to deal with a preying mantis or scorpion if they were the same size as we are. ,,, dang someone has beat me to it: Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killer_insect_films bornagain77

Ms Zuk discusses her cricket study at about 10mins. Turns out the flys have cricket ears. That may be convergent evo? Quiet crickets surviving on 2 islands is hardly convergent I would think....http://breakingbio.com/2014/01/31/episode-55-come-share-a-paleofantasy-with-marlene-zuk/ ppolish

The presence of these North American flies placed the crickets, themselves relatively recent arrivals from Australia, under pressure to adapt. And so adapt they did. Miraculous. And the god of that island tired of the endless chirping of the crickets and so sent forth flies. And thus did the crickets of that island learn to keep their mating calls to themselves. But really, when you're dealing with infinite population sizes, who cares if a few get eaten? Mung

Quiet crickets already existed on the islands. They were not eaten and multiplied. I see extinction, but where is the evolution? ppolish

"In less than 20 generations" Could it be 'preprogrammed' phenotypic plasticity? Here is a more dramatic example of rapid adaptation: Phenotypic Plasticity - Lizard cecal valve (cyclical variation)- video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEtgOApmnTA Lizard Plasticity - March 2013 Excerpt: So in this study, plasticity experiments were conducted. When the lizards were taken off a plant diet and returned to their native insect diet, the cecal valves in their stomachs began to revert within weeks. As the authors conclude, this pointed heavily to plasticity as a cause. We can infer that the this gut morphology likewise arose in similar fashion when coming into contact with the plant diet. http://biota-curve.blogspot.com/2013/03/lizard-plasticity.html bornagain77