Beren Robinson Case

815 Words4 Pages
Drew Cohen Field Study: Beren Robinson Beren Robinson’s field study is one that focuses on a species of fish known as the three-spine sticklebacks. These fish are native to the Northern regions of North America and they are a part of the family Gasterosteus. They reside in lakes that were formed during the last glacial episode as the ice sheets retreated and left large holes in the lithology. Since the three-spine stickleback was introduced to these waters there has been an occurrence of rapid speciation. The reason that this group of fish was so interesting to Beren is because the species of Gasterosteus that inhabited Cranby Lake is one of the youngest species in the world. This, along with that fact that no more than two species of Gasterosteus occur in the same lake made Robinson start to hypothesize. Beren questioned if the, “constraints imposed by these distinct environments are partly responsible for the evolution of the pairs of species.” (Robinson, 2000) “In sampling the population of one such species—Gasterosteus aculeatus, which occurs in Cranby Lake in the coastal region of British Columbia—Robinson found that individuals sampled from the open-water…show more content…
Because speciation happens at a slow rate in relation to human involvement it is very difficult for scientists to complete research. Natural selection plays a very important role in evolution of species through time. The species with the most desirable traits at that point in time are the ones that will go on the reproduce the most offspring. This has an effect on ecology because as species change as a result of the environment there will also be an additional change as a result of the species. Robinson’s study is slightly different than most because it shows how natural selection works within a single population as the two specimens change as a result of their specific environment and food

More about Beren Robinson Case

Open Document