A flower known as the mother of millions is reproducing very quickly. The flowers contain a type of poison and kill cattle that devour them. The poison found in the mother of millions plant was a lot like the poison found in some frogs. When the lizards ate the flower they gained a defense against the toads poison and allowed them to eat them with out feeling the effects of the poison to the fullest extend. Through natural selection also helped snakes develop a tolerance to the poison, it only took 20 to 40 generations to take effect. The Australian government is going to focus on destroying the frogs were the mother of millions is not present, and would have a bigger impact on species
I think it is crazy how fast natural selection can work. I was told for most animals it would take a human life for changes to be noticed but it seems like it happens a lot faster than that. It also seems a little like a game in some ways. One animal makes a move to get a jump another, if the other animal does not a move then it will lose and die. I also think it is interesting to see that some exotic species are not always bad ,as in this case. It is still bad though since many animals still die from the flowers poison.
1. How fast does it take for natural selection to take place?
2. How much will the population of toads drop?
3. Could the toads go through natural selection and get an even stronger poison?
Defense against poison is a great defense to have. Nature, like the mother of millions flower, can poison species, and so can humans. Human pollute nature and maybe, because of natural selection, some species can withstand human pollution more easily. To answer question number 3; I think toads may be able to acquire a
ReplyDeletestronger poison through natural selection, if the necessary mutation occurs.
Defense against poison is a great thing to have, but I am curious whether or not this mother of millions is an invasive species. It's really weird how fast natural selection happened in this case, normally it would take many more generations of lizards for them to develop such a high resistance to the frogs' poison. In response to question 2, the population of toads will probably drop quite a bit since more of them will be eaten by the lizards than before
ReplyDeleteIt really is amazing how this one plant can influence a whole species.There could be species like this all around us, but we will not find out until they have a big impact on our ecosystems. I do not think that the Australians should get rid of the frogs where the mother of millions is, because there is no point of taking away a species if it does not have that big effect on us, or the ecosystem as a whole, they should just step back and let mother nature take over.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1.How long does it take for 20 to 40 generations to occur?
2.What types of plants in Pennsylvania are like the mother of millions
3.Did the poisonous frogs become threatened or endangered yet?
This example is kind of like when the shells built a resistance against crabs in the lab we did in class
DeleteNatural selection seems to be dong several damages at once, here. I wonder what good this will do in the long-run, or if it can be traced back to humans. It is incredible how that poison can spread so quickly through natural selection. I believe that the Australian government should not interfere with the natural order of things when it is to kill. The ony reason they bother is because of the economic risks of the livestock.
ReplyDeleteThere is no set amount of time for natural selection; the process is ongoing. Without that, it could not exist, most plainly. New traits do appear at certain times, but it is impossible to find the exact time the trait fully delevops, because evolution is an ongoing process. It is very gradual, which is why it seems to take such a very long time.