A change in climate can speed up the course of evolution too, proving Darwin’s theory of ‘Survival of the fittest’. Several researches have been undertaken to find the indicators to climate change, and several have been discovered or proved too. But, penguins! Yes, it was a colony of penguins that has bred at the same site in Antarctica for thousands of years that gifted the scientists with this rare insight. Ancient fragments of DNA from the remains of penguins that have been buried at the site for up to 6,000 years are analyzed and they were compared to the DNA of living members of the same colony.
Though there were no notable changes to the appearance or behavior of the birds, the comparison has offered a snapshot of small-scale evolutionary changes to the genetic sequence of the penguins’ DNA. Scientists found that there had been significant changes to the DNA of the penguin colony. And the reason behind it? Obviously climate change that have probably occurred when huge icebergs break off from the Antarctic ice shelf. So, should we consider the recent similar incident at the Antarctica, another step towards such evolution, atleast for the polar animals?
Via: The Independent, The Guardian