Feeding birds 'changes evolution'

Obviously animals adapt to changing food sources but usually these are relatively temporary changes. The news here is that us putting out food for birds and thereby providing a novel food source may not only result in a temporary behavioural adaptation but actually lead to reproductive isolation and eventually speciation. In other words we are shaping evolution without being truly aware of it by doing minor things we don't think twice about. Indian house crows have lived together within urban territory for millennia feeding of human garbage, but still they are able to crossbreed with their mor... [More]

come on guys...we have been doing this forever. This is how we domesticated dogs. WE people have been moving on top of other animals habitats since urbanization first started. Now it has gotten to point were not only birds, but almost every animal there is : bears, skunks, deer, snakes etc... and the list goes on.

Indian house crows have lived together within urban territory for millennia feeding of human garbage, but still they are able to crossbreed with their more wild relatives in the (Indian) jungles, and even with other crow species. So could the orcas living in sympatric groups in BC, point is they don't and as the article stated, genetic testing shows that neither do these two bird populations which in the long run could lead to speciation. come on guys...we have been doing this forever. This is how we domesticated dogs. WE people have been moving on top of other animals habitats since urbanizat... [More]

True but that does not mean we should be. interesting. I'm reminded of Spock during the Voyage home - "Admiral, if we do what we want to these whales, then we would be as guilty as those who caused their extinction." or words to that effect. I don't usually reference movies as an argument but some quotes are worth it (probably a favorite for Cetacea). Is it the right and moral thing to do, to be causing the extinction (or evolution outside of the natural development - "without man"). I know the creaties will say that man can do whatever the eff he wants to do to the planet because god said so.... [More]

Seems like you could basically call this "Inadvertent Domestication" Look what we did to Wolves. We've already done this to other species of birds too. They are basically domesticated birds without cages.

Obviously animals adapt to changing food sources but usually these are relatively temporary changes. The news here is that us putting out food for birds and thereby providing a novel food source may not only result in a temporary behavioural adaptation but actually lead to reproductive isolation and eventually speciation. In other words we are shaping evolution without being truly aware of it by doing minor things we don't think twice about. One can certainly agree when you look at Seagulls. They reign the dumpsites and fast food parking lots as vultures ever since waste management and greasy ... [More]

*directs everyone to chapter one of The Origin of Species, "Variation Under Domestication"* Darwin also noted some interesting things about bird and insect life as it was affected by humans sectioning off areas for orchards. How those isolated chunks of land with trees we were growing would end up with insects (feeding on the plant life) that weren't known anywhere else in that land. And then birds (feeding on those insects) that were also distinct to the area. And as was mentioned, many breeds of dogs only exist due to our history of breeding dogs to be good runners, trackers, whatever. Inadv... [More]

But how will it lead to speciation since there is neither Genetic drift nor geographical isolation resulting here? I could lead to genetic drift, if genes that lead to starvation in outer populations are surviving because of the added food then you could very well see birds with genes that are not foung in the wild. If the stressed (or there lack of) continue then the birds could gain deleterious genes lost in the wild because they are not being stresses by the food shortages that impact birds away from housing areas where human feeding if available. These could soon separate the species, howe... [More]

I give always food for different birds (specially in winter ).

I am a big defender of wildlife, and man does his share of destroy a great deal of it, but what I find funny about this article is all the hype about changing “evolution for a species” for some birds by feeding them some seeds, but the media doesn’t say anything about changing evolution for the human species by producing GMO foods.