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First Hybrid Shark Surprises Scientists

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Ghetsis-Dennis

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World-first hybrid shark found off Australia - Yahoo! News

Just when you thought you had enough of Australia's weirdest life forms you'll ever see, think again. Scientists have discovered a new shark that's a hybrid of an Australian Black Tip and a Common Black Tip. It is believed these sub-species are crossbreeding due to the continuing growth of climate change. I'm not sure we should be joyful of this or worrisome because we believe hybrids are never meant to exist in the first place. *points to the Liger*
 
Griffons must be mating with horses if blacktips are mating with blacktips :p

But really, as a shark lover this is very interesting. A bit worrying if the hypothesized reasons behind it are correct... but interesting all the same.
 
Ghetsis-Dennis said:
I'm not sure we should be joyful of this or worrisome because we believe hybrids are never meant to exist in the first place. *points to the Liger*
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Who do you refer to as "we"? I certainly have no problem with hybrids, and I'm sure a large majority of biologists feel that way as well. That's how we've gotten all of these different kinds of dog and cat breeds over the centuries. They're hybrids that eventually gained such large numbers that they're seen as a distinct subspecies.

As far as sharks go, it's interesting to see how they're adapting to their environment right before our eyes. It puts a tiny (keyword) bit of credence into Darwin's theory of evolution, for those still skeptical of it because they haven't seen it firsthand.
 
Caitlin said:
As far as sharks go, it's interesting to see how they're adapting to their environment right before our eyes. It puts a tiny (keyword) bit of credence into Darwin's theory of evolution, for those still skeptical of it because they haven't seen it firsthand.
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Oh, I doubt that. Evolution skeptics are very hard to convince.
 
Caitlin said:
Who do you refer to as "we"? I certainly have no problem with hybrids, and I'm sure a large majority of biologists feel that way as well. That's how we've gotten all of these different kinds of dog and cat breeds over the centuries. They're hybrids that eventually gained such large numbers that they're seen as a distinct subspecies.
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I've been taught by my middle school science teacher that wild animal hybrids are a mistake and don't belong in the ecosystem.
 
Is your middle school science teacher one of those "creative design" whackjobs, by any chance? I'm unfamiliar with the Californian education system's stance on evolution, which goes into who they hire to teach science and biology. Besides, just because one person says it doesn't mean it should be held with absolute conviction. As another thread stated, be a skeptical consumer of information.

Hybrids occur in nature all of the time whether we're aware of it or not. Hybridization in flowers, for example, ensures the thriving survival of certain plants in different soil conditions. Some hybrids, like a cat and a dog hybrid (ignoring that dumb cartoon) aren't viable and do not survive, so this may be what your teacher was thinking. However, hybridization within a genus usually produces viable offspring that can survive, and if equipped well enough for the environment, outlive their parents as a species.
 
He's not, he just believes that a hybrid do not belong in the ecosystem and won't survive long, which is why I mentioned the liger as an example.
 
Caitlin said:
Who do you refer to as "we"? I certainly have no problem with hybrids, and I'm sure a large majority of biologists feel that way as well. That's how we've gotten all of these different kinds of dog and cat breeds over the centuries. They're hybrids that eventually gained such large numbers that they're seen as a distinct subspecies.

As far as sharks go, it's interesting to see how they're adapting to their environment right before our eyes. It puts a tiny (keyword) bit of credence into Darwin's theory of evolution, for those still skeptical of it because they haven't seen it firsthand.
Click to expand...
Real quickly, do any of "evolution's rival beliefs" appreciate or depreciate the observation of hybrids? I'm not seeking to debate anything, but this doesn't seem to be evolution "right before our own eyes." (The theory of evolution also isn't purely about adaptation, but also about beneficial mutation [that not necessarily being the whole of mutation] and complexity-development, or, rather, evolution as an explanation is about such.) I don't even think this story has to be spun to be seen as evidence of something else.

On a somewhat different note, if two things can breed, I wonder what the value of declaring them separate species even is. Tigers and lions polar bears and grizzly bears, various species of shark, etc., having minutely different aesthetic and physical traits, but still being able to breed, makes them akin to humans of different appearances with different physical (aesthetic and non-aesthetic) traits. Calling something a lion is in reference to it's appearance and common designation, and is of course helpful (such really isn't a scientific description or designation though, even though it is to some degree observational).
 
Ghetsis-Dennis said:
He's not, he just believes that a hybrid do not belong in the ecosystem and won't survive long, which is why I mentioned the liger as an example.
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Most hybrids of two species are infertile, and thus, never make it beyond one generation. Those that are fertile also don't necessarily survive either; beneficial genes can be eliminated or the hybrids may be more susceptible to disease (depending on how far apart the parent species are genetically). Hybridization seems to work well in flowering plants, but not so well in mammals.
 
There's also wolfdogs, coydogs, and jackdogs, all of which were able to reproduce with each other. Thus, subspecies can reproduce and make fertile offsprings with each other; two different species however....
 
Please note: The thread is from 14 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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