Biologists Document Predictable Evolutionary Patterns in Stick Insects
New research shows short-term evolutionary changes in stick insects are driven by constant environmental pressures, while long-term outcomes are influenced by random events.
- Researchers studied three decades of data on stick insect populations in California.
- Findings reveal that bird predation drives predictable color pattern changes in the insects.
- Short-term evolutionary changes are repeatable due to negative frequency-dependent natural selection.
- Long-term evolutionary outcomes are less predictable due to random events like mutations and climatic changes.
- The study highlights the complexity of evolutionary processes over different timescales.
ScienceDaily 