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Techno2000
Guest
Lets say the Earth will last forever how long will animals keep evolving ?
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rossum
Guest
There are a number of mechanisms driving animal evolution. Genetic drift will always operate due to the statistical nature of the reproductive process. Natural selection will operate as long as the various environments animals live in are not static. Sexual selection will operate in species which have sexes.
In short, animals will continue evolving as long as there are animals.
I would be interested to know why you ask this question. You have asked very similar questions before and had them answered.
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tjm190
Guest
Until animals become perfectly adapted to their enviornment, assuming that enviornment doesn’t change (and even then “neutral” traits may diffuse throughout the population as well as those that give an ‘edge’ reproduction wise), or until all the animals die off.
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liquidpele
Guest
Think of it this way. Lets say you have 1000 animals, and some evolve while others do not and always stay the same.
Now, what does change? The environment, resources, and the animals that evolve right? So as the evolving animals change to adapt to new environments, changes in resources, and competition between each other, just surviving becomes difficult for the ones that don’t evolve. Keep in mind that some of the animals are likely parasitic or microbes that cause diseases in other animals, so evolving attack and defence mechanisms become very important between these particular groups.
Second, the ones that don’t evolve never branch into new species… eventually because of the changes they cannot change with, competition with other species that grow more capable of taking larger shares of the resources, etc, they will die out. And when they die out, they never branched into any other species so their genetic information is lost forever… as in the genetics that say “don’t evolve” disappear.
So what you end up with is all animals that evolve, and animals that do not evolve cease to exist, because things that don’t change with the changing world are at an extreme disadvantage.
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Matthias123
Guest
I do not believe that we should separate biological evolution from the evolution of the cosmos as a whole. As long as the universe moves towards an end, and there are biological organisms, there will be biological evolution.
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Techno2000
Guest
Ok so no animal can ever reach… " perfection" ?
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rossum
Guest
I live in London. London is perfection. Some animals have reached London, so we can be certain that some animals have reached perfection.
Other people with different definitions of perfection may differ.
rossum
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teachccd
Guest
You expect someone here to have this answer? Who could ever claim to know??
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teachccd
Guest
Well, that explains that!!
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liquidpele
Guest
Define perfection first.
Fore instance, an animal that is strong might be more perfect right? But then again, it would require more food in a time of famine so a skinny animal might come out on top in certain situations. Perfection, at least in the material world, is relative.
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liquidpele
Guest
What was confusing about my post exactly?Well, that explains that!!
It was an explanation for why all animals evolve all the time.
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teachccd
Guest
It is the certainty in which you seem to “know” how things will be in the from now and forever when no one knows the origins. Your words were not confusing in the least. It’s just that you speak with such authority on things we really cannot project into. The question, “Will evolution ever come to an end?” could never be answered unless one can delve into eternity. I don’t see anyone here or anywhere with that kind of ability. Kudos on the good scientific information, however…teachccd
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liquidpele
Guest
Well, we’re talking about science here, and thus the phrase “as far as we know” is always implied. If you have evidence to the contrary or see a flaw in the logic of my explanation, feel free to post it.It is the certainty in which you seem to “know” how things will be in the from now and forever when no one knows the origins. Your words were not confusing in the least. It’s just that you speak with such authority on things we really cannot project into. The question, “Will evolution ever come to an end?” could never be answered unless one can delve into eternity. I don’t see anyone here or anywhere with that kind of ability. Kudos on the good scientific information, however…teachccd
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teachccd
Guest
Yes, indeed science only goes so far. Your logic is theoretically as good as any. I just don’t see how the OP’s question can have a definitive answer. But speculation can be drawn from what we know. I have no problem with that…Peace, teachccd
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Bluegoat
Guest
Creation is as perfect as it’s going to get. The purpose of time is not to make things more and more perfect. THings were perfect (but fallen) in the beginning, they are now, and they will be at the end of time. Then, when there is no time, God will make them perfect with no buts.
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StAnastasia
Guest
rossum, can you seriously claim that London is more perfect than Oxford?
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Marlowann
Guest
Perfection is completion in every way possible.
Thus, although a “perfect” man might not be able to do everything that is good (like single-handedly establishing world peace for the rest of mankind’s existence), he would still (in theory) be “perfect” in that he would be completely fulfilling all that he should be; for instance, this perfect man would do everything in the most fitting manner possible, and would always do good and avoid evil.
You’d be surprised at how much morality is involved in almost everything that we do.
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rossum
Guest
Of course it is. Oxford is only half of the Boat Race. London has all of the Boat Race.
rossum
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StAnastasia
Guest
The other half has won only three out of the last ten times. Oxford is evolving a better team.Of course it is. Oxford is only half of the Boat Race. London has all of the Boat Race.
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