Australian Scientists Consider Altering Evolution

While Australia has been blessed with a huge variety of species, many different factors are now changing that. They have also experienced hard hit episodes where they are invaded with mice and rats. The scenes of farms overrun with thousands of these animals is truly alarming. But while the typical Australian is hardy and used to these affronts, there seems to be a 'feast or famine' problem happening.

They have had their hands full along the way by having to deal with cane toads that were brought in to handle Quolls, a small marsupial. This backfired and now they have far too many cane toads. So assisting nature in the past has proven to be disastrous.

Which is why I find myself stunned that since we keep track of populations we know that numbers are being affected and now want to step in to help them survive. In other words, we want to try altering adaptations in the genetic sense to allow them to thrive.

Have we not learned our lesson? I can see why scientists are concerned but there is a time to realize this is part of nature and an indicator that our world is changing. Animals and nature are the first true symbols of that change since their habitat is now no longer thriving, climate change is making normal functioning almost impossible and fires are taking away habitat.

Even if scientists altered remaining species to better facilitate their needs, we do not know how this would play out. It takes huge periods of time for evolutionary changes to take hold. They have no idea what this kind of meddling would create.

No human likes to stand by and see this happen. But Australia is just one place on a huge global stage. If you look around, this is happening all over the world, on land and in the sea. I still think we can help in our own ways to share food and water but changing genes is not the way to go. Nature will take her course.