Evolution is a continuous process. All living organisms develop further, adapt or cease to exist. This is how evolution works. A new study conducted found that in order to evolve, predators and parasites may resort to mixed breeding and may produce an entirely new species in order to survive. So what are the consequences of this kind of interactions between parasites and predators for biology? The researchers aim to find out how it can affect the evolution process.
As the study found, these mixed interactions can affect the genetic outcome of a new species. Plants and animals exhibit a variety of mating structures, and traits can vastly be altered as a consequence. It was also found that enemies can be passed on to a new breed by the ‘outcrossing’, which is the process where the genetic materials are inherited onto the new species. The tracing of these genetic materials using a binocular compound microscope and other high technology equipment and controlled procedures make this type of experiment viable, as the new species can be studies for inherent traits of their parents.
The evolutionary stability is stated to be greatly affected by the natural enemies or the predators. The stuffy states that these may have an influence on the mating strategies of their prey, the plants and the animals, by disrupting the interactions that should naturally take place. In the research laboratory, the scientists studied these organisms under a powerful binocular compound microscope and found that as the natural enemies change the populations and demographics of a specific kind if species, this species will tend to mate with other victims to reproduce and survive. With this mixed mating, the stability of the evolution of the new species is progressed, getting better with the traits they inherit.
So, parasites and predators of the natural world have a purpose after all. With the advent of modern technology like the binocular compound microscope, digital photography and DNA testing, researchers are considering doing more experiments of this type to gain a better understanding of the roles of each and every living organism may play in our future. The lead author of the study, Janette A. Steets, stated that even if most of what they depend on is just theories, facts are fast shedding light on the concepts. The findings of the experiment strongly supports the theory that enemies of plants and animals, the parasites and the predators indeed have a great affect of the mating systems to alter evolution somehow. Bacteria also have this effect. Its predators are the antibiotics that are made especially to kill them. In order to survive, bacteria evolve into something more resistant. The resistant strains are not affected by the antibiotics, and thus the bacteria thrive. This is why antibiotics are categorized according to strength, seeing that the bacteria produce new strains to maintain its resiliency.
The maintenance of evolutionary stability remains to be a question to scientists. The disruption of mating systems may be due to other factors as well, and might not wholly rely on parasites and predators. New researches are being conducted to answer these.