Intructions: You need to pick ONE of the week’s articles, read it, and participate in the discussion of that article by responding to the leader’s initial post.  

I chose the article “Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution”: https://www.quantamagazine.org/interspecies-hybrids-play-a-vital-role-in-evolution-20170824/ (Links to an external site.)

The article asserts that hybrid evolution can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Depending on how hybrids develop. Is it naturally occurring? Or has there been human interference.  The article details the evolution and hybridization of several species and more information is being discovered every day. I found this to be very interesting in how it may affect how certain species have been protected in the past by conservationists or even in the potential survival of endangered species.  Hybrid infiltration may be the answer to allowing endangered species to thrive by adopting more relevant characteristics that aid in survival, or hybrids can cause an original species to die out.

An example of natural hybrid development in the article is between the Grizzly Bear and the Polar Bear. While an example of unnatural hybrid development involves the California Tiger Salamander and the Barred Tiger Salamander. The difference between the two is caused by human involvement. I question whether or not human involvement in the hybridization of an endangered species may turn out to be beneficial? What are your thoughts?

Citation:

Gepeleqicz, Jordana.Quanta Magazine.(2022).“Interspecies Hybrids Play a Vital Role in Evolution”.August 24th, 2017.Retrieved from: https://www.quantamagazine.org/interspecies-hybrids-play-a-vital-role-in-evolution-20170824/