Scientists predicted the course of evolution in sea snails and confirmed their predictions in a 30-year experiment. The results of the research were published in the journal Science Developments.
In 1988, the Koster archipelago off Sweden’s west coast was struck by a toxic algal bloom. The population of sea snails has almost disappeared Littorina saxatilis. On the larger islands, numbers rose from 1% to normal within two to four years. However, the small islands could not escape the blow.
In 1992, marine ecologist Kerstin Johannesson saw the disaster as a unique opportunity. He returned the snails to one of the islands, starting a 30-year experiment. An international team of scientists has predicted how animals will develop, what they will look like, and even which regions of the genome will be affected.
Shortly after settling on the island, the snails changed shape to adapt to their new environment. However, the population also began to change rapidly genetically.
Scientists’ predictions came true, and the animals managed to restore their numbers to thousands. Snails protected on other islands helped them in this regard. They already had what it took to survive on the archipelago. From time to time they were thrown onto small islands and mated with new snails. This accelerated the acquisition of new snails by the necessary characteristics: they quickly established themselves in the population.
The study not only made it possible to see evolution in real time, but also highlighted the importance of a wide population gene pool: If animals have the opportunity to mate with already adapted individuals, new traits will be formed more quickly.
Previous scientists I learnedthat loneliness and extinction contributed to the extinction of mammoths.
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Source: Gazeta
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