Super Predators And Extinction.

[wonderpup]

We've all seen the classic 'Lion verses Zebra" footage on TV- and sometimes the lions win, other times the zebras win- and live to see another day.

And this scene has been played out for thousands of years on the plains of Africa.

So what would happen if by some quirk of genetics a new super lion emerged- and emerged so quickly that the zebra would have no time to adapt?

For a short time this super lion would be phenomenally successful- it's kill rate would be off the charts as it rapidly decimated the Zebra population.

But the time would come when almost all of the prey was gone- and the super lions would begin to starve- destroyed by their own ability to consume the resources of their environment.

At this point the super lions would be left with only one choice- only one way to prolong their existence;

Go after the Zebra's bank deposits.

[nmarks]

With any luck they'll turn on themselves.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

So what would happen if by some quirk of genetics a new super lion emerged- and emerged so quickly that the zebra would have no time to adapt?

You don't even need a quirk of genetics. Just introduce a pre-existing predator into a new environment. Hedgehogs and cats had a marvellous time when they first arrived in New Zealand.

And, whilst we're on the subject of ecological niches, I can't see this thread surviving much longer in the Main Board.

[200p]

Get some fight, imagine you are a caged tiger.

Be prepared, always.

You are waiting patiently, until the keeper forgets to lock the cage door one day. What are you going to do when that happens? RRRRRRRRRRAAAAAA!!!!

[200p]

And remember, the only constant in the universe is CHANGE.

It is not the strongest that will survive, but it is the most adaptive. Perhaps some quirky genetic mutation caused a zebra to be invisible to super lions. Either the non-mutant zebras learns to adapt by learning the skill or it will die. Those genetic traits with the mutations will be more prevalent in the new population of zebras as they can be the ones that will survive and reproduce.

[Police]

Bit of a false analogy. Lion(esses) kill to eat. They'd get pretty fat before consuming all the zebra. I would say the genetic change would need to be extra fertility - but then, do pregnant cats still hunt?

[RichB]

Have a read of the Logic of Failure. Makes me sad.

[jethrotull]

Bit of a false analogy. Lion(esses) kill to eat. They'd get pretty fat before consuming all the zebra. I would say the genetic change would need to be extra fertility - but then, do pregnant cats still hunt?

Maternity benefits are pretty low in Zim. They should come to the UK.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

I like Cracked's take on the Palaeozoic and eight foot long eurypterids snacking on unsuspecting trilobites...

We at Cracked refer to the Paleozoic as the Age of Scary sh*t for rather obvious reasons. Pretty much everything that evolved during this time went out of its way to be as strange or utterly terrifying as it possibly could be. We start off with the Cambrian era. This was the age when the first complex creatures began to evolve. Mother Nature, immediately betraying her dark, psychotic tendencies, immediately went out of her way to make them all as horrific as possible.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

An environment changing faster than hypothesised rates of evolution to keep up with the change is likely to be a common occurrence (Darwinism was first formulated and popularised when talk of meteor impacts and other sudden catastrophes was considered a little too Biblical for rational types).

The only responses open to the 'zebra's' would be (imho)

1. Die, or

2. If at all possible, move

In the case of the appearance of a 'super lion' that would involve finding a habitat where zebra's can just about get by and the 'super lions' can't. The lions would have fewer kids but would still tick over, nibbling on any strays in the margins between the two zones.

How that analogy translates back into the world of finance, **** knows

[Starla]

You don't even need a quirk of genetics. Just introduce a pre-existing predator into a new environment. Hedgehogs and cats had a marvellous time when they first arrived in New Zealand.

Look no further than the Cane Toad. Australia's biggest environmental blunder. Shipped over in the 1930's to control beatles that were destroying crops, except they didn't kill many beatles and instead have numbers of around 2million and have been advancing from Queensland in military formation ever since. There are no natural predators and they are killing wildlife. They have no other purpose other than to keep hopping towards the horizon eating anything that can be eaten. Scientists have no clue how to wipe them out.

Cane Toads: The Conquest is tremendous/funny/oh well... viewing.

http://www.canetoadstheconquest.com/

[happy_renting]

Any change in environment (including an increase of predation) is evolutionary pressure, whereby certain genes become more important to deal with the changed environment, and so these genes become more prevalent through natural selection.

The zebras, therefore, would evolve into super-zebras, with 20-foot electric tentacles with lasers, and massive claws instead of hooves.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

alternatively

[Nuggets Mahoney]

I'm not a very good Darwinist. So I'm not really surprised that when cats appeared on their island the only thing these little fellas evolved into was lunch...

[Neptune]

Look no further than the Cane Toad. Australia's biggest environmental blunder. Shipped over in the 1930's to control beatles that were destroying crops, except they didn't kill many beatles and instead have numbers of around 2million and have been advancing from Queensland in military formation ever since. There are no natural predators and they are killing wildlife. They have no other purpose other than to keep hopping towards the horizon eating anything that can be eaten. Scientists have no clue how to wipe them out.

Cane Toads: The Conquest is tremendous/funny/oh well... viewing.

http://www.canetoadstheconquest.com/

I thought some bird had learned to tear off the skin of the cane toad ( where the poison is) before eating it.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

I thought some bird had learned to tear off the skin of the cane toad ( where the poison is) before eating it.

Even if so, that would kind of beg the question how do his mates learn his new trick and pass it on to future generations?

I think what you would be supposed to say is 'some bird just happened to be born with an inclination to tear off the skin of the cane toad ( where the poison is) before eating it'

[LiveinHope]

I thought some bird had learned to tear off the skin of the cane toad ( where the poison is) before eating it.

Sounds like something ccc would meet on a night out

[happy_renting]

Even if so, that would kind of beg the question how do his mates learn his new trick and pass it on to future generations?

I think what you would be supposed to say is 'some bird just happened to be born with an inclination to tear off the skin of the cane toad ( where the poison is) before eating it'

Some birds, particularly corvids and members of the parrot family, are highly intelligent. I think almost all birds learn from thir parents - birdsong, flying, etc. Some birds can even invent and make tools as well as use them.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

Some birds, particularly corvids and members of the parrot family, are highly intelligent. I think almost all birds learn from thir parents - birdsong, flying, etc. Some birds can even invent and make tools as well as use them.

t*ts to that

Actually, my favourite are keas

Legend has it that they peck the sills out of car windows to get at food.

I've had one swoop down and nick a prepacked ham sandwich sitting on a table in front of me, fly off to a safe distance with it, drop it on the ground, rip off the plastic, yank out and eat the ham.

Animals learn stuff and pass it on to their mates and offspring, no dispute. I'm not so sure we've sussed all of the mechanisms involved.

[Nationalist]

Zebras have already evolved invisibility - their black and white stripes make them completely invisible to lions, against a background of other zebras!