Re: Extinction & Loss of Habitat

From: "Phil Bunch" pbunch at cts.com> on 2001.11.13 at 04:23:10(7815) I have not read the book you mention. I suspect that humans will continue for quite some time, perhaps not at the same level of "development" we currently "enjoy" but we are a highly adaptable species. The mass extinction problem will almost certainly get worse. It may be that if we are careful and wiser than we appear to be there will be refugia from which a fair amount of the extant DNA will expand. +More I do suspect however that some of the habitats we are forming will be around for a very long time. Rats appear to be good candidates for continued evolution, as long as there are enough humans to provide for their needs in teh short term. Insects of course are very good at the "numbers game" and we should expect plenty of new forms to develop. Among the plants I would expect to see plenty Poaceae, Asteraceae, and a few other families that have many "weedy species." Hopefully, Phil Bunch -----Original Message----- To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L Date: Monday, November 12, 2001 09:09 Subject: Re: Extinction & Loss of Habitat >In a message dated Thu, 8 Nov 2001 12:12:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, "Phil Bunch" writes: > >> In fact since we consider these new habitats to be ours, much of what >> evolves will be seen as weeds or pests. We just barely stay ahead of >> the species we don't like. > >Are you familiar with the book _After_Man_? It is quite fanciful, of course, as it conjectrures what new species will/may evolve on earth after our extinction (in fact, some seem downright implausible); but the writer/artist did have many of his imagined future species evolve from rodents and other current pests, since these are most likely to survive the age of man. His predatory "rats" were especially believable -- in the absence of carnivorous megafauna, rats likely would seize upon the opportunity. >

Note: this is a very old post, so no reply function is available.