Inference and its role in NS (General)

by dhw, Monday, January 17, 2011, 11:14 (4869 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID: Another probability about NS is that competition may be a minor issue and land, air or sea 'space', when available, may allow for rapid diversification of species which is as the fossil record indicates. Dinosaurs died out and small mammals rapidly diversified:-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11063939-How would availability of living space lead to diversification? Where do the new organs, the new species come from? The article gives a vivid example:-"When birds evolved the ability to fly, that opened up a vast range of new possibilities not available to other animals. Suddenly the skies were quite literally the limit, triggering a new evolutionary burst."-There is little doubt that this is what happened. But "birds evolved the ability to fly" is simply glossed over as if it didn't present the theory of evolution with an almighty problem. How did the ability to fly "evolve"? Similarly we're told that "the extinction of dinosaurs left areas of living space open, giving mammals their lucky break." How did this lead to diversification, to new species? When resources become scarce, as Matt points out, humans also try alternatives to combat. But even in their new environments, they are still humans. -David seems to see epigenetics as the answer ... certainly a more satisfactory solution than chance mutations ... but is there any evidence that epigenetic changes (a) produce new organs, (b) produce new species, and (c) are anything but short-term? (This is a genuine question, not a criticism.)