Those Damned Corals!
Yesterday (April 25, 2014) Science Daily News published research - Some corals adjusting to rising ocean temperatures - "Scientists have revealed how some corals can quickly switch on or off
certain genes in order to survive in warmer-than-average tidal waters." http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140424143737.htm
Shortly after posting on FB, a friend responded with, "Good News, I Hope."
I responded with the following:
Shortly after posting on FB, a friend responded with, "Good News, I Hope."
I responded with the following:
Hi Phil,
Despite of our best efforts, life will survive. In fact, the fossil record shows that it is downright tenacious and adaptable.
Punctuated Equilibrium, a modification of Darwin's theory of Natural Selection as more fossil bearing rocks and sediments were discovered, reveals that species are actually relatively stable, until external stressors act on them. That could be what we see happening here.
Corals themselves are part of an ancient group of animals (Cnidarians) that pre-date the Cambrian "explosion." Jellyfish and sea anemones belong to the same group.
What's interesting is that ancient corals all went extinct during the transition from the Permian to the Triassic periods of Earth's history, part of a mass extinction that was even greater then the one that eliminated dinosaurs, 90% vs. 60%.
Both ancient and modern coral skeletons are made of calcium carbonate, same as clams. They are however, structurally different: calcite vs. argonite.
The theory is that modern corals evolved from a few species of ancient corals that survived the mass extinction. The change in structure is thought to reflect changes in the chemical composition of the oceans. Just like our modern corals are adapting to warming oceans today, some 225 million years ago corals adapted so they could survive in the changed environment.
Another point of interest is that coral reefs disappeared some 160 million years ago, and didn’t show up again until about 35 million years ago. This too was caused by a changed in the chemistry of the seawater.
Here are a couple of links you can check about ancient and modern coral reefs.
http://coral.aims.gov.au/info/reefs-mesozoic.jsp
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041109235235.htm
Here is a link to our planet’s five greatest mass extinctions.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/dinosaurs-other-extinct-creatures/mass-extinctions/
And if you scroll down here a little, you find a list of “Lesser” extinctions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_event
Despite of our best efforts, life will survive. In fact, the fossil record shows that it is downright tenacious and adaptable.
Punctuated Equilibrium, a modification of Darwin's theory of Natural Selection as more fossil bearing rocks and sediments were discovered, reveals that species are actually relatively stable, until external stressors act on them. That could be what we see happening here.
Corals themselves are part of an ancient group of animals (Cnidarians) that pre-date the Cambrian "explosion." Jellyfish and sea anemones belong to the same group.
What's interesting is that ancient corals all went extinct during the transition from the Permian to the Triassic periods of Earth's history, part of a mass extinction that was even greater then the one that eliminated dinosaurs, 90% vs. 60%.
Both ancient and modern coral skeletons are made of calcium carbonate, same as clams. They are however, structurally different: calcite vs. argonite.
The theory is that modern corals evolved from a few species of ancient corals that survived the mass extinction. The change in structure is thought to reflect changes in the chemical composition of the oceans. Just like our modern corals are adapting to warming oceans today, some 225 million years ago corals adapted so they could survive in the changed environment.
Another point of interest is that coral reefs disappeared some 160 million years ago, and didn’t show up again until about 35 million years ago. This too was caused by a changed in the chemistry of the seawater.
Here are a couple of links you can check about ancient and modern coral reefs.
http://coral.aims.gov.au/info/reefs-mesozoic.jsp
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041109235235.htm
Here is a link to our planet’s five greatest mass extinctions.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/dinosaurs-other-extinct-creatures/mass-extinctions/
And if you scroll down here a little, you find a list of “Lesser” extinctions.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction_event
Interestingly enough, the very same day Science Daily News had a second piece about animals adapting - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140424223057.htm - Chernobyl's birds adapting to ionizing radiation
"Birds in the exclusion zone around Chernobyl are adapting to -- and may even be benefiting from -- long-term exposure to radiation, ecologists have found."
"Birds in the exclusion zone around Chernobyl are adapting to -- and may even be benefiting from -- long-term exposure to radiation, ecologists have found."