Macroevolution

From PhiloWiki

It is generally agreed by both Creationists and secularists that evolution does occur within individual species (genotypes). But the full mechanism of Darwinian evolution has been a subject of much debate. A major issue is speciation, or the creation of separate breeds of plants and animals through macroevolution. Macroevolution is based on the concept that one reproducing species can change into another completely different reproducing species, i.e. fish to frog, frog to lizard, lizard to bird, etc.

Can small changes within a species give rise to new species through the process of macro-evolution?

Macroevolution is true

"This article directly addresses the scientific evidence in favor of common descent and macroevolution. This article is specifically intended for those who are scientifically minded but, for one reason or another, have come to believe that macroevolutionary theory explains little, makes few or no testable predictions, is unfalsifiable, or has not been scientifically demonstrated."

29+ Evidences for Macroevolution from Talk.Origins  Douglas Theobald, Ph.D.

[Question 4.18] There is sufficient evidence for macroevolution that it can safely be considered a fact without direct observation of the process occurring in our time.

Frequently Encountered Criticisms in Evolution vs. Creationism from Defender's Guide to Science and Creationism  Mark I. Vuletic

"From clownfish to catfish, grouper to great white, the diversity of fish in the sea is nothing short of astonishing. Now scientists have managed to account for this wide assortment, at least in part, by tracing the evolution of the organ that allows the creatures to swim at different depths.

To change their buoyancy and move up and down in the water, fish inflate an internal organ called the swim bladder. Some fish, such as herring, must surface and gulp air in order to fill their swim bladders with oxygen. Other fish, which are able to submerge for much longer periods and thus reach greater depths, are able to use oxygen from their blood in order to inflate the swim bladder, thanks to a specific type of protein known as Root-effect hemoglobin...

The swim bladder itself, however, arose independently in four different fish groups, Berenbrink and his collaborators report in the current issue of the journal Science. The team proposes that the evolution of the swim bladder accounts for part of the huge diversity of form and function in living fishes. For example, there are 198 species of Mormyroidea fish, all of which have swim bladders, yet there are only eight species of their close relatives, the Notopteridae, which lack the complex organ."

Fish Diversity Tied to Evolution of Diving Ability from Scientific American  Sarah Graham

The way the two species of snake have adapted to cope with this challenge has been described as a classic example of "'contemporary evolution.'

Snakes Bite Back at Poison Toads from BBC News

Macroevolution is false

The start of a seven-part series on evolution by PBS was greeted Sept. 24 by 100 scientists challenging Darwinian evolution.

"The scientists, in a succinct statement coordinated by the Seattle-based Discovery Institute public policy center, said they are 'skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life.'

7-part PBS series on evolution challenged by 100 scientists from IDEA  Art Toalston

Macro-evolution claims that through major genetic mutations one species can evolve into another, so over a long period of time fish could evolve into insects, birds and mammals. From this concept it's suggested that all life could have evolved from simple chemical structures, thus life could have resulted from natural processes without the need for a creator.

Macro-evolution is highly contentious and its more extreme interpretations challenge conventional Christian thinking. It's sometimes suggested that God chose to create life through evolution, however, there's now a weighty and growing body of both scientific and philosophical evidence that discredits macro-evolution.

[http://everystudent.com/wires/evolution.html What About Evolution? from EveryStudent.com  Duncan Moore

There is no evidence for macro-evolution [pp 45].

Case for a Creator from   Lee Strobel

• Darwin’s Black Box: A Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, by Michael Behe
• Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, by Michael Denton
• Uncommon Dissent: Intellectuals who find Darwinism Unconvincing, by William Dembski.