(Bill Cole wrote)
> Good points and thanks, Amy. I'm learning.
>
> But I must ask: Who said the kinked tail is a
> fault? Surely it would be
> at a gerbil show (I guess) -- but I don't think
> Darwin defined gerbil
> faults, did he?
>
Perhaps a good starting point is the phrase - form
follows function. From my observation, I believe the
primary function of the gerbil tail is balance,
particularly with regard to leaping. Consider a
tightrope walker and his pole - he requires a straight
one for the most reliable balance assistance. A
crooked or otherwise uneven pole would not provide
reliable balance assistance, thus its form would not
provide proper function. I think a similar standard
would apply to a straight gerbil tail versus a crooked
one.
>
> As I understand these matters, mutations are random
> events. Some benefit
> a species and some do not. Are you prepared to STOP
> a course of nature
> because the gerbil's tail looks funny to you?
The problem I see with this argument is that many
gerbil mutations found in captivity are not a
reflection of wild or random ones, and are thus not
the natural course at all. Breeders cross desirable
domestic traits and breed out undesirable ones, such
as skittishness, aggressiveness, difficult-to-tame
individuals, etc. By doing so, we remove or reduce
essential wild survival traits from the domestic
population. Domestic mutations, therefore, are the
events occurring in a carefully controlled population,
not a wild and survival-selected one.
I recommend viewing the fascinating photographs at the
NGS website depicting wild-caught Mongolian Gerbils.
Their appearance is quite different. Correct me if I
am wrong, but I believe that their behavior has also
been reported as quite different from the average
domestic strain individuals.
Amy aka MScottMGP
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