Free diver community evolves larger spleens
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Found I am guilty of (unknowingly) double posting myself, but (edit, original post cut cut off here due to evil cell-phone & Scubaboard disagreements (always SB only...)) but, maybe a moderator could combine threads:
Genetically Better Divers
Personally, I find this entirely plausible.
Genetically Better Divers
Personally, I find this entirely plausible.
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Speaking as an evolutionary biologist, the claim here is entirely plausible. Selection involving relatively small anatomical changes does not require some individuals/groups to die. Evolution can also act quite rapidly. We understand, for example, that rapid shifts in things like bird beak sizes can happen within a few generations. In this case, all that is required for the enlarged spleen size is initial variation in size. Over a number of generations if those with larger than average spleens have a few more children, then the average spleen size can grow in the population. I'm still a tad skeptical that spleen size itself is responsible for their amazing abilities; a fairly complex comparative study would need to be done. But it's interesting nevertheless.
aquacat8
Contributor
There is also epigenetics, there is also neuroplasticity... more and more we are discovering things can change faster and in ways we didn’t know before. Waiting for my gills....
There are undoubtedly a whole constellation of body changes and the spleen is one that is easier to recognize.
The minature mammoths that evolved off the coast of Alaska on islands are a perfect example where smallness was an advantage since they needed less resources and over time the animals became much smaller than they started. It is all probabilistic. It is not necessarily death if you are less fit. But for a population of a number of animals there can be tendacies.
That the population was isolated and probably inbred encourages keeping the advantageous traits that happen to pop up.
It is also possible that this is not an entirely new trait for us. We have lots of traits on our genome that are not active but can be triggered depending on our environment. This could be a case of their lifestyle bringing back some traits stored on the genes.
The minature mammoths that evolved off the coast of Alaska on islands are a perfect example where smallness was an advantage since they needed less resources and over time the animals became much smaller than they started. It is all probabilistic. It is not necessarily death if you are less fit. But for a population of a number of animals there can be tendacies.
That the population was isolated and probably inbred encourages keeping the advantageous traits that happen to pop up.
It is also possible that this is not an entirely new trait for us. We have lots of traits on our genome that are not active but can be triggered depending on our environment. This could be a case of their lifestyle bringing back some traits stored on the genes.
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