Record-breaking evolutionary change brings a butterfly back from the brink
What do you think happens to a species when some kind of pathogen targets it and is extremely successful at killing it off? Extinction is pretty much what will happen. If not extinction, decimation is likely. Well a tropical butterfly beat the odds and set a new record of evolutionary adaptation:
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley and elsewhere have documented the super-swift recovery of tropical Hypolimnas bolina butterflies, also called blue moon or great eggfly butterflies, from the onslaught of a bacteria that killed only males. The bacteria had reduced the male population to about 1 percent of the overall species, but within 10 generations over less than a year in 2006, the males had recovered to 39 percent of the population, according to the researchers. Source: Male butterflies swiftly out-evolve killer bacteria | Tech news blog - CNET News.com
Generally evolution of a species takes years. Like tens or hundreds of them, not one (less actually). While this might be a fluke or a rarity in the natural world, since it’s happened once, it can happen again and has likely happened before. This rapid change gives credence to the punctuated equilibrium theory that evolution happens in fast bursts followed by long plateaus. This butterfly, because they can obviously reproduce quickly, can evolve faster than a person since it takes at least a decade and a bit before a human female can pass on her genetic code to offspring. Regardless, this is pretty exciting stuff.