It would seem the design that can survive the most extinctions would be the clear winner in the end.

  • WarmSoda
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    4 months ago

    There’s isn’t anything doing selecting. A gene mutates and if it stays in the mating cycle enough times to become part of the species as a whole then it’s become “selected”. That includes things that aren’t good for adapting to an environment as well as things that are.

    • Call me Lenny/Leni
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      4 months ago

      This makes me wonder, why are there no 100% albino species considering albinos can be found in every species and can only produce other albino offspring when paired with other albinos?

      • IonAddis@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Aren’t there, in blind cave species where there’s no pressure to select for coloring to protect from the sun or to camouflage or display for mates?

      • intensely_human
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        4 months ago

        If they can only albino offspring when paired with other albinos that indicates it’s a recessive gene.

        Recessive genes don’t take over gene pools unless they confer some survival advantage.

        • AwkwardLookMonkeyPuppet@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          And usually albinos are at a distinct disadvantage. Their camouflage doesn’t work, or their mating colors aren’t present, or they get burned up by the sun, or a hundred other disadvantages depending on the species and environment.

      • raptir@lemdro.id
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        4 months ago

        Albino is only used as a term when it’s a deviation from the species norm usually. There are all white cave bugs.

        • Call me Lenny/Leni
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          4 months ago

          How does being albino automatically mean being eaten (assuming we rule out species that need camouflage)?

          • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
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            4 months ago

            First, the vast majority of species depend on camouflage at least somewhat, since there are very few species that are neither predator nor prey. Also, albinism prevents your skin from properly protecting you from the sun. So even then, it is selected against. As other have pointed out though, caves don’t have either of these forces at play—the darkness makes visual camouflage irrelevant and there is no UV light. So there, as you predicted, most species are albino.