The Big Issues- Trends in Evolution
Today the topic is "Trends in Evolution." What are the parameters for a trend? Are there trends in evolution? Are there evolutionary trends across lineages? Is evolution progressive? Let's dive in! A trend cannot be a random occasion, for example if it is 110 degrees out for one day when it is usually 70 degrees that time of year; if the heat continues for a period of years continuing in an upward direction, this could be considered a global warming trend. Trends for to be a trend in one direction or another. Now that we have covered what a trend is, how is it applicable to evolution? Trends are not seen in evolution across all linages, for example size of organisms. It seems that a lot of species have grown bigger, but this is not the case across all linages, some sizes have decreased, so we cannot say there is one evolutionary trend across all linages. However, there are specific linages that show evolutionary trends. For exa...
