Mus Musculus 2.0

[Spearmint Rhino]

The common mouse evolves to three times its normal size on remote Atlantic island

[Mumpo]

Mus Musculus 2.0

'Evolved'? Over 150 years?

[Spearmint Rhino]

Mus Musculus 2.0

What would you call it, then?

I should have called this thread "A metaphorical nibble on the ankle for the Creationists".

[Mumpo]

Mus Musculus 2.0

Heh. I wouldn't know what to call it. I was under the impression that evolution is a considerably more protracted process, though.

[Spearmint Rhino]

Mus Musculus 2.0

Well, it isn't as though they've grown wings. They've just got a lot bigger, freakishly bigger. Bear in mind that a generation in mouse terms is quite short, so you could fit a lot of them into 150 years.

[matt j]

Mus Musculus 2.0

Considering mouse ages, reproduction frequency (I'm estimating about 600 generations) and quantity of offspring... considering that really we are only talking about changing size (one would guess is a relatively simple variation... they haven't grown wings after all)...

sounds about right.

When they make it back to England and start feasting on your minature poodles, then I'd start getting worried.

[Stumpy Pepys]

Mus Musculus 2.0

Lots of factors influence body size and evolution is probably one of them.

It doesn't exactly discredit creationists though (even they accept new species can develop over time).

[Anton Gramscescu]

Mus Musculus 2.0

It's not time that matters, KM, it's generations. And mice breed like...um...mice.

How long did it take the Pepper Moths to switch colour in reaction to industrialiation?

[Spearmint Rhino]

Mus Musculus 2.0

Spooky cross-post.

[Anton Gramscescu]

Mus Musculus 2.0

You guys are fast.

[Eggchaser]

Mus Musculus 2.0

But as a terrible consequence of the first whalers making landfall there 150 years ago, Gough has become the stage for one of nature's great horror shows. Mice stowed away on the whaling boats jumped ship and have since multiplied to 700,000 or more on an island of about 25 square miles.

It's our fault? There's a shock.

[Ginger Yellow]

Mus Musculus 2.0

Island gigantism/dwarfism is pretty much the most common and well understood pattern in all of evolution. Without natural predators and with limited food supplies, animals introduced to an island tend to converge on an optimal surface area/volume ratio. I'd say the most interesting thing about this is the conversion to a carnivorous diet (I suspect it's actually omnivorous). I'd be very interested to know what if any physiological changes have accompanied/driven that.

[Ginger Yellow]

Mus Musculus 2.0

How long did it take the Pepper Moths to switch colour in reaction to industrialiation?

To be pedantic, the moths didn't switch colour. Rather, the already existing darker moths came to dominate the population.