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Question: Did another animal take the role of the vultures? Nature is very efficient. If there opportunity, it seems like some animals might evolve to fill tha

Question: Did another animal take the role of the vultures? Nature is very efficient. If there opportunity, it seems like some animals might evolve to fill that role.

derpilderp 2y ago
[flagged]
- account42 2y ago
  This is really one of the worst memes to have infected online discourse. If you have something worthwile to add say it insteady making yourself look like a fool in your attempt to mock the person you are replying to.
  - hombre_fatal 2y ago
    I’d like to see a return to having the balls to stand by our low effort comments without couching them in meme format like the olden days. This format just means “ur wrong” and we used to have the spine to say that.
trte9343r4 2y ago
Evolution takes long time. But to answer your question: wild dogs. But in India they spread rabies and other diseases, attack and kill people. And their excrements are highly toxic, and kill plants (unlike vultures). Nature is not always efficient.
- shiroiushi 2y ago
  >But to answer your question: wild dogs. But in India they spread rabies and other diseases, attack and kill people. I think the other issue here is that those wild dogs are highly protected by law, even when they do spread rabies and attack and kill people.
- bryanrasmussen 2y ago
  Nature is reasonably efficient for the goals of nature, but the goals of humanity do not often align with Nature's.
- soperj 2y ago
  Wouldn't the spread of rabies and other diseases actually be a demonstration of nature being efficient?
- nyc_data_geek 2y ago
  >>Nature is not always efficient. that all depends on what you're optimizing for
jna_sh 2y ago
For an animal to evolve to fill this niche, the niche would have to convey some advantage that favours their survival and reproduction (i.e. natural selection). Aside from the fact that this isn’t actually a terribly efficient process and is subject to lots of random effects, the niche in its current form as influenced by human activity is clearly not conveying a survival benefit, or the vultures wouldn’t have declined. A member of another bird species deciding to take to scavenging trash heaps whilst happening to have a mutation that protects it from diclofenac (which is toxic to lesser degrees in other non-vulture birds) is not impossible, but unlikely, and could very well be a process that occurs at a timescale that is incompatible with the rate of continued change by humans.
- account42 2y ago
  Other (especially non-avian) scavengers could have better reactions to the cattle drug that the article blames for poisioning the vultures and thus thrive when their competition is gone.
kergonath 2y ago
> Nature is very efficient. This is a meme and it is unfounded. In most cases, nature is good enough.
- pas 2y ago
  efficient at what? what's the measure, utility function, what are nature's KPIs? :) utilizing energy gradients? maybe, but there's plenty of that on Mars yet it's barren. so probably certain ecosystems can be more or less efficient at this, right?
pvaldes 2y ago
Striped Hyaenas would be the other choice, but the relationship with humans is more complicated

Question: Did another animal take the role of the vultures? Nature is very efficient. If there opportunity, it seems like some animals might evolve to fill that role.

derpilderp 2y ago

[flagged]

account42 2y ago
This is really one of the worst memes to have infected online discourse. If you have something worthwile to add say it insteady making yourself look like a fool in your attempt to mock the person you are replying to.
- hombre_fatal 2y ago
  I’d like to see a return to having the balls to stand by our low effort comments without couching them in meme format like the olden days. This format just means “ur wrong” and we used to have the spine to say that.

trte9343r4 2y ago

Evolution takes long time. But to answer your question: wild dogs. But in India they spread rabies and other diseases, attack and kill people. And their excrements are highly toxic, and kill plants (unlike vultures). Nature is not always efficient.

shiroiushi 2y ago
>But to answer your question: wild dogs. But in India they spread rabies and other diseases, attack and kill people. I think the other issue here is that those wild dogs are highly protected by law, even when they do spread rabies and attack and kill people.
bryanrasmussen 2y ago
Nature is reasonably efficient for the goals of nature, but the goals of humanity do not often align with Nature's.
soperj 2y ago
Wouldn't the spread of rabies and other diseases actually be a demonstration of nature being efficient?
nyc_data_geek 2y ago
>>Nature is not always efficient. that all depends on what you're optimizing for

jna_sh 2y ago

For an animal to evolve to fill this niche, the niche would have to convey some advantage that favours their survival and reproduction (i.e. natural selection). Aside from the fact that this isn’t actually a terribly efficient process and is subject to lots of random effects, the niche in its current form as influenced by human activity is clearly not conveying a survival benefit, or the vultures wouldn’t have declined. A member of another bird species deciding to take to scavenging trash heaps whilst happening to have a mutation that protects it from diclofenac (which is toxic to lesser degrees in other non-vulture birds) is not impossible, but unlikely, and could very well be a process that occurs at a timescale that is incompatible with the rate of continued change by humans.

account42 2y ago
Other (especially non-avian) scavengers could have better reactions to the cattle drug that the article blames for poisioning the vultures and thus thrive when their competition is gone.

kergonath 2y ago

> Nature is very efficient. This is a meme and it is unfounded. In most cases, nature is good enough.

pas 2y ago
efficient at what? what's the measure, utility function, what are nature's KPIs? :) utilizing energy gradients? maybe, but there's plenty of that on Mars yet it's barren. so probably certain ecosystems can be more or less efficient at this, right?

pvaldes 2y ago

Striped Hyaenas would be the other choice, but the relationship with humans is more complicated