Brought to you by the word “could”
Shrinking ice sheets in the Arctic Ocean could be promoting breeding between different species, creating hybrid whales and bears, according to a paper published on Thursday in the journal Nature.
“Could be.” This isn’t science, it’s simply conjecture.
As global temperatures rise, scientists have noted that sea ice in the Arctic is getting thinner. They expect that by midcentury, a passage through the ice sheet will be available for at least one month each summer.
A paper by a trio of researchers explores what the loss of this nearly-continent-size barrier could mean for species inhabiting the region. The paper lists 22 species that are at risk of hybridization, including the narwhal and the polar bear. Of those, about 14 are threatened or will soon be threatened. They say that such interbreeding between such species is already occurring — an animal that was a mix of grizzly bear and polar bear was found in 2006, for example — and will probably increase.
Say, I wondered what has happened all those numerous times in the past when this has happened?
The long-term results could be devastating because the genes of many of these species developed over millenniums in isolated populations, giving these Arctic marine animals sets of fine-tuned adaptations that helping them uniquely thrive in the harsh environment, the researchers write.
Oh, so, they’ve developed over millenniums, which include cold and warm periods, and they’ve come through just fine? Well, that’s weird. Anyhow, notice that the left’s precious Darwinism, including survival of the fittest, adaption, and evolution, just disappears?
