Have We Ever Seen A New Species Arise? - 12 Days of Evolution #5
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[MUSIC] [BIRD CHIRP] During WWII, Londoners took nightly refuge in the Underground as German buzz bombs exploded above. But they were greeted with a different buzz: Mosquitoes. In the 19th century, when London’s Tube was being dug, a population of mosquitoes colonized the tunnels. They originally preferred biting birds, but since pigeons don’t ride the subway, they found a new target in rats, mice and people. Now, just more than a century later, when the tube-dwellers try to mate with their above-ground cousins, it almost never results in viable offspring. The subway skeeters are becoming a new species right before our eyes, with different behaviors, and different genes. Species are always more likely to emerge when a population gets isolated. Maybe one goes underground. Maybe a river...
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[MUSIC] [BIRD CHIRP] During WWII, Londoners took nightly refuge in the Underground as German buzz bombs exploded above. But they were greeted with a different buzz: Mosquitoes. In the 19th century, when London’s Tube was being dug, a population of mosquitoes colonized the tunnels. They originally preferred biting birds, but since pigeons don’t ride the subway, they found a new target in rats, mice and people. Now, just more than a century later, when the tube-dwellers try to mate with their above-ground cousins, it almost never results in viable offspring. The subway skeeters are becoming a new species right before our eyes, with different behaviors, and different genes. Species are always more likely to emerge when a population gets isolated. Maybe one goes underground. Maybe a river...
