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News

  • Forestry Friday: The Rare Milkweed Garden at the Gardner Forest

    Sophie Oehler
    September 15, 2023

    In this Forestry Friday, the forestry team takes a trip to the Gardener Forest in Hollis to check in on a population of a rare species of milkweed. (Photo: Sophie Oehler)

  • Something Wild: Why the treeline of Mt. Washington is not a line

    Dave Anderson, Chris Martin, Jessica Hunt
    August 24, 2023

    In this second episode of our series, Dave Anderson of the Forest Society and Chris Martin of NH Audubon are exploring the different forest zones on the flanks of the mountain, below the treeline.

  • Something Wild: Atop Mt. Washington

    Dave Anderson, Chris Martin, Jessica Hunt
    August 3, 2023

    The Something Wild team is above treeline on Mount Washington, exploring the ecological zones of New England’s highest peak. 

    While many visitors focus on summiting, Chris Martin of NH Audubon and Dave Anderson of the Forest Society are examining how both flora and fauna vary as the ...

Adaptation or (Genetic) Anomaly

Something Wild
Dave Anderson, Chris Martin, Ross Boyd, Andrew Parrella
February 27, 2015
Wildlife
Natural Resources
Black squirrel ignites this discussion turned debate. Photo Robert Taylor via Flickr

It all started with a black squirrel.  These rare creatures aren't a separate species - they're your garden variety gray squirrel, but a genetic mutation has given them a black fur coat.  That got Dave wondering if a black squirrel has any advantages its fairer forebears don't (other than being incredibly popular among nature photographers).  Wondering turned to arguing.  

Chris was concerned too many comparisons were being drawn between genetic anomalies and evolutionary adaptation.  And the Something Wild producers couldn't believe neither of their hosts had seen "The Princess Bride".  After a few deep breaths, we decided to look at each of these concepts separately... starting with the black squirrel...

Albino porcupine. Ralph Pughsley

You may be familiar with albinism; it refers to a group of rare inherited disorders affecting the amount of pigment found in an animal's skin, hair and eyes.  It has been seen in many creatures like white elephants, albino porcupines and domestic rabbits.  Melanism is kind of the opposite. It's an excess of pigment present in an organism.  This elevated pigmentation results in dark skin, feathers, scales, or the fur.  Melanism has been observed in a variety of animals.  Both melanism and albinism are genetic mutations - random tweaks in the genetic code found in animals from jaguars to lobsters to peppered moths.  And of course our black gray squirrel.

Ermine on suet feeder. Jim Viar

Then we have animals whose fur changes color annually- survival adaptations that species have developed over time for particular reasons.  Here in New Hampshire you may have encountered a short-tailed weasel.  In the summer, they bear a reddish brown coat.  Come winter, the weasel molts to an all-white coat except for its black tail-tip. (During this color phase, the weasel is referred to as an "ermine").  Another NH native is the snowshoe hare, well known for changing coats seasonally.

How are these ideas connected?  Chris wasn't convinced there is a connection between adaptations and albinism or melanism "which are basically accidents".  He argued that albinism doesn't appear to offer any specific advantages.  Dave agreed that there are no apparent advantages but traits could become advantageous at some time in the future.  Chris didn't buy it.  

Natural selection operates over many generations.  Evolution of entirely new species takes eons... and Chris and Dave will still be arguing about it then.

 

Listen to the feature here at NHPR

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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests54 Portsmouth St.Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603.224.9945Fax: 603.228.0423info@forestsociety.org
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