Alex Wild“What is the function of Species X?” Is a question I hear often from non-biologists.
But it’s hard to answer. Species don’t exist to serve a function. They exist because they can. Everything is just trying to find a way to be.
Maxilo OveritSpeciation as job application. Go.
rsp@aka_quant_noir @alexwild While species do not exist to serve a function, they do in fact serve functions. Question: is there a word similar to function that would be more appropriate? Humans serve the function of providing a niche for follicle mites and human lice and hundreds of kinds of bacteria, viruses, ect. I wouldn't say that species have a "purpose* in the sense of fulfilling a supreme being's plan--but in the sense that other species depend on other species.
@rspfau @aka_quant_noir I like to think of ecological gravity in a multi-dimensional space, where a particular organism affects the trajectory of other organisms. That's not their purpose, but it's their result, and if it's stable enough over time then other things adjust to it.
@alexwild @aka_quant_noir So the *result* of a species' existence is to be a component of other species' niches. In the same way that evolution has no purpose but it has a result.
Photo Ewen 📷A friend of mine was lamenting today that there's not enough conversation on Mastodon, then this thread turns up!
You're welcome at my place for a chat over a cup of tea and a biscuit anytime.
skua@rspfau @aka_quant_noir @alexwild
The perception of function seems dependent on both the worldview of, and interpretation by, the observer.
The perception of function seems dependent on both the worldview of, and interpretation by, the observer.
neville park@rspfau @aka_quant_noir @alexwild finally, someone looking out for the follicle mites
(it's hard to study them in the lab because they can't live long off our skin. a recent paper suggests they are evolving to become even more dependent upon us https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/39/6/msac125/6604544 )
John S. Wilkins