Re: Bacterial Evolution Question


TomS wrote:
"On 10 Apr 2006 11:13:20 -0700, in article
<1144692800.845751.62010@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Richard Forrest
stated..."


Desertphile wrote:
Dave wrote:

Is the evolution of antibiotic bacteria micro- or macro-evolution?

There is no difference between "macro-evolution" and "micro-evolution."
Neither term means anything.

I would think that it is macro- because the species has changed.

"Macro-evolution" does not mean anything.

It's a useful term to use to refer to the scale at which we study
evolution, such as the long-term and large scale patterns associated
with paleobiogeography. It is not a term which refers to mechanism, and
therefore does not imply different processes from those we observe at
smaller scales.

I'm not a scientist, so read what I say here as a request
for clarification ...

As I understand it, it is somewhat misleading to call these
"micro" and "macro" evolution, as if it were merely a matter of
degree. Macro-evolution is evolution which involves a change of
species, and micro-evolution does not. A relatively small amount
of evolution might result in a change in species, and a
relatively large amount of evolution might take place within a
species. A change which makes reproduction impossible between
two varieties might be quite small, but would lead to
reproductive isolation, and therefore be macro-evolution. But
a big change in body size or structure might not lead to
reproductive isolation.

Frankly, it's not a term of much value in the grey area around
speciation. There are, as you have correctly pointed out, many
different types of change which can lead to the formation of a new
species. It can be as simple as a single mutation which afffects the
form of the sexual organs, such as has been reported in such an event
in mayflies, or a much more gradual change over many generations in
which the creation of a new species can only be seen in retrospect.

The simple fact is that biologists don't draw any distinction at the
level of how evolution takes place between micro- and macroevolution.
It's a matter of perspective.

RF


--
---Tom S. <http://talkreason.org/articles/chickegg.cfm>
"It is not too much to say that every indication of Design in the Kosmos is so
much evidence against the Omnipotence of the Designer. ... The evidences ... of
Natural Theology distinctly imply that the author of the Kosmos worked under
limitations..." John Stuart Mill, "Theism", Part II

.

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