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>organisms that are simple and adaptable I would be careful with the word simple. Adaptable is the important component, and that seems to be related more to be
by gizmo686 13y ago
>organisms that are simple and adaptable
I would be careful with the word simple. Adaptable is the important component, and that seems to be related more to being small and not particularly specialized. Simple sounds like a description of the amount of genetic data the species contains. It has been a while since I took biology, but if I recall correctly, even small and adaptable species have a lot of genetic data. When a mass extinction event happens, once the environment stabilizes, the doors are open for large animals again, and the small ones already have the genetic complexity needed to fill those niches relatively quickly.
- j_baker 13y agoIf adaptability (without simplicity) is the key component, that sounds like somewhat good news for humanity, us being a versatile type, and we can eat a lot of things for food. It's not quite clear to me that survival necessarily implies smallness. Though I would imagine that a lot of humans would die in the process. It would make the black plague look like child's play.
- icegreentea 13y agoI think the better way to define simple is the number of "assumptions" an animal makes of its environment in order to survive/thrive.