Evolution has brought a huge variety of species into this world. It has also given organisms traits that can make it more fit or out-compete others. For example, Gnathostomes, along the evolutionary line, developed jaws that allowed these fish to hunt prey ferociously, out-competing other primitive fish.
Now, explain why a particular organism is arguably the most fit life form on Earth. Has the organism been around for millennium, and is still living today? What is the secret to its success? Has the organism appeared within the last millennium, yet has the potential to out-compete other species? Be sure to cite evidence from Coyne's book that supports your evidence on why your organism is the most fit, as well as cite evidence from outside sources.
Please do not argue that humans are the most fit life form on Earth. It's true that intelligence can go so far, but expand your horizons and look at other species.
I think this question is too broad-based in that you are trying to make us answer which organism is the "fittest" based on no parameters whatsoever. The fittest marine animal will most likely not be the fittest terrestrial as well, making it "unfit" if we base it off of survival on terrestrial land. There are too many parameters to look at to even begin to argue what the fittest organism is. I believe that not arguing that humans are the fittest organism is impossible. We adapt to all different types of terrain based on technology, our form of adaption that may require other organism hundreds or thousands of years to produce. Also, an organism's goal is to survive or produce. A whale does not care what a tiger does because they do not have the same niches. To try to juxtapose organisms in this manner cannot be done.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with Andrew about the difficulty in answering this very broadly-based question, I disagree in the fact that it is un-answerable. There are specific organisms that have lived for millions of years that have not needed to undergo speciation. This is because specific organisms have enough flexibility in their life-style to not need to completely change species in order to adapt to the changes in the world’s environment.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a case can be made about the Ginkgo biloba being the most fit life-form on earth. According to Coyne “Ginkgo trees have lived millions of years without producing many new species”(7). It can be argued that this very long existence of the Ginkgo tree organism demonstrates the fact that Ginkgo trees are very well suited to live on this earth. When we explored gymnosperm diversity in class earlier this year, we read that the “Ginkgo biloba is the only surviving species of this [Ginkgophyta] phylum” (Cambell 622). The previously stated statement means that the Ginkgo biloba has millions of years while the rest of its phylum died out.
The secret to the Ginkgo’s success is the fact that it can grow in environments not many other plant species can grow, also known as disturbed environments. The Ginkgo has outcompeted other species by being hardy enough to live in tougher conditions. One of the Ginkgo’s greatest attributes is its capability of living in highly polluted air(Xiang http://arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu), which demonstrates a potential for the Ginkgo to keep on living even amongst the wasteful humans around it.
I believe the greatest evidence of the Ginkgo’s fit life-form is its longevity. It is one of the oldest species to not have had to speciate.
I agree with Andrew's post - there are many, many different ways to defend or refute a claim of "the fittest organism." Though the Ginkgo, as Brady wrote, is arguably very fit, is it the "fittest"? Even though the Ginkgo has performed beautifully in the face of adversity, is a long life and ability to live in polluted areas a positive thing, when there are faster growing and hardier species? Though it's true, as Brady said, that the Ginkgo can grow in "disturbed environments," this does not necessarily make it the "fittest" plant. In undisturbed environments, other plants may out-compete the Ginkgo by reproducing faster and taking over the space the tree needs to survive. Each organism has different parameters by which we can judge them, like Andrew said. In terms of how fast the reproduce, how well they do against other organisms, what niche they occupy, each organism does differently. To compare an amoeba and a Ginkgo tree would be really difficult unless we had some specific aspect of each to compare.
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