Boyle, Alan. "Evolution and the Volcano." Cosmic Log - Msnbc.com. MSNBC, 18 May 2010. Web. 20 May 2010. - Scientists researching Mt. Saint Helens recently have found many ways and forms that new life is developing after the eruption thirty years ago.
- One form of new life is a newt that has abandoned it's lungs for gills.
- It now lives completely under water and thrives.
- the blast of the mountain created 150 new lakes or ponds that new amphibians are developing in.
This article relates directly to our underlying current of Evolution. It shows how species can adapt to their environments or natural disasters due to helpful adaptations. The newt probably had variation in the population that helped it live completely under water, and when the blast occurred the land newts were killed. Evolution was sped up extremely fast and this hew newt was formed. If this happened to newts here it could be possible for humans to simulate natural disasters and create new species. This is a promising hope for the Gulf Oil Spill, as it shows an environment's ability to recover from disasters quickly. If we stop the spill soon enough it could make the recovery time significantly quicker. Scientists should study the area more and see if more species have adapted and diverged due to the massive selective pressure of the Eruption of Mount Saint Helens.
Link:
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/05/18/2321831.aspx
Citation:
Boyle, Alan. "Evolution and the Volcano." Cosmic Log - Msnbc.com. MSNBC, 18 May 2010. Web. 20 May 2010. .
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