Evolution In A Blink Of An Eye

Many studies suggest that larger animals survive better in colder climates. When the temperatures increase smaller animals are better suited to survival. In some cases, warming climates cause larger fauna to die off. This is one of the leading hypothesizes of the decline of the mega fauna of the ice age.  Many species that existed during the ice age, still inhabit the planet. One of these species is the coyote.



Fossil records show that coyotes during the ice age were much larger than their modern descendants. Fossils suggest that the coyotes sizes during the ice age where about fifty percent larger during that era. Unlike many other species that ancient coyotes coexisted with, the coyote did not die off. The species adapted to the warming environment, smaller coyotes were more likely to surivive. Through natural selection the species adapted to the new climate in which they inhabit.

The genotype of an organism is a major factor in determination of an organisms size. Coyotes with genotypes coding for smaller body size were more likely to survive in the warming climate. This dramatic change in the size of coyotes occurred in a very short period of time. This discovery supports the theory of evolution and genetic inheritance.