'Fuel of Evolution' Is More Prevalent in Wild Animals Than Previously Imagined

Human activities are causing significant changes in our globe, ranging from land conversion and habitat loss to climate change.

Certain have hypothesized that fast adaptation may help some species survive these changes, but concerns remain regarding whether adaptation could happen quickly enough to make a difference.

According to a recent study from The Australian National University, the raw material for evolution is significantly more abundant in wild animals than previously thought.

Wild animals' abundance in evolution

(Photo : ZINYANGE AUNTONY/AFP via Getty Images)

Darwinian evolution is the process through which natural selection results in genetic changes in features that benefit individual survival and reproduction, as per ScienceDaily.

The rate of evolution is heavily influenced by genetic variations between people.

An international study team led by Dr. Timothée Bonnet of ANU sought to determine how much of this genetic variation, or "fuel of evolution," persists in wild animal populations. The answer is two to four times what was previously assumed.

According to Dr. Bonnet, Darwin's described evolutionary process was extremely sluggish.

However, since Darwin, researchers have discovered several cases of Darwinian evolution occurring in a few years, according to Dr. Bonnet.

The study is the first to systematically assess the rate of evolution on a wide scale, rather than on an ad hoc basis.

The study of 19 populations of wild animals from around the world was conducted by a team of 40 researchers from 27 scientific organizations.

Excellent fairy-wrens in Australia, spotted hyenas in Tanzania, song sparrows in Canada, and red deer in Scotland were among them.

We wanted to know when each person was born, who mated with them, how many children they had, and when they died.

Dr. Bonnet stated that each of these investigations lasted an average of 30 years, giving the researchers with an amazing 2.6 million hours of field data.

Read more: Darwinian Theory of Evolution Found in Abrupt Shifts in Animal Evolution: New Research

Humans Accelerate Animal Evolution

Humans, acting as super-predators, force changes in body size and reproductive capacity in certain species 300 percent quicker than would occur naturally, according to a 2009 research, as per LiveScience.

Individual sportsmen's hunting and fishing, as well as large-scale commercial fishing, are outperforming other human factors, such as pollution, in terms of their effects on the animal kingdom. The changes are severe, and some species' existence may be jeopardized.

According to an analysis of 34 studies that monitored 29 species over 40 distinct geographic areas, harvested and hunted populations are 20% smaller in body size than prior generations, and the age at which they first reproduce is 25% earlier.

Douglas Chadwick wrote in National Geographic magazine in 1990 on how trophy hunting, the practice of killing only the greatest creatures, has caused a drop in the average size of Kodiak Bears over time.

Human predation is rapidly reshaping wild populations by harvesting large numbers and targeting reproductively mature individuals, leaving smaller individuals to reproduce at ever-earlier ages, according to Chris Darimont of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

The rate of change we're seeing far outpaces what we've seen in natural systems, and even in systems that have been rapidly modified by humans in other ways, according to Darimont. According to the study, the changes surpass those caused by pollution and human-introduced alien species by 50%.

Related article: New Data Set Shows How Far Human Influences Affect Evolution