Breeders of pedigreed cats sometimes create new

#1 02-08-2007, 03:04 AM

cat breeds by artificial selection. Why isn't this evolution?

#2 02-08-2007, 05:22 AM

It is evolution. However, it is not speciation [the correct term for so-called "macro-evolution"], because these new breeds/varieties can still be cross-bred to your generic alleycat and produce viable/fertile/able-to-have-baby kittens.

#3 02-08-2007, 06:18 AM

It isn't evolutions because in order for evolution to work there has to be an advantage for the cat to survive and mate. In the ovaries or testes there must be mutation that gives an advantage to the animal to be better suited to it's enviroment. Just cross bredding two differnt cats doesn't create new gene's it just mixes them up.

#4 02-08-2007, 07:24 AM

tis MICRO-evolution

#5 02-08-2007, 08:32 AM

If anything it should be called "Forced Evolution". Selective Evolution takes the strongest, fittest, and to some extent the more intelligent. What they're doing is basically taking two animals & forcing them too produce the desired outcome.

spiderlover128 · #6 02-09-2007, 01:14 PM

In a way, it is evolution. Evolution, by definition, is just a species changing. Well, the cat species is changing. But it is only micro evolution, or small changes. Macro evolution is what the theory of evolution says happened. It is a change from one species to another. It is not this type of evolution because they are still cats, not some new species. You could also argue that this is not natural selection, and is therefore not evolution. But natural selection is only one way evolution is thought to happen. Read the first few chapters of Darwin's Origin of Species for more info on this. He talks a lot about domestication and artificial evolution.

oil field trash · #7 02-09-2007, 02:17 PM

Evolution as stated by Darwin is "natural selection" This means plants and amimals adapt by having the ones best suited to a specific environment live and reproduce and those not well suited to die off. Depending on the life cycle of the individual plant or animal, this can occur in a short time (years) or a very long time (thousands of years)A good example of this is bacteria that become "resistant" to an antibiotic. This happens because the antibotic may not be able kill all of the bacteria. Those that survive continue to reproduce and you have a resistant strain.Cross breeding is not natural selection. It is forced selection and therefore not evolution