Punctuated Equilibrium support from research? (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 23:30 (4420 days ago) @ David Turell

New evidence of stasis from the LaBrea tar pit in Los angeles:-
"Thus, the data show that birds and mammals at Rancho La Brea show complete stasis and were unresponsive to the major climate change that occurred at 20 ka, consistent with other studies of Pleistocene animals and plants. Most explanations for such stasis (stabilizing selection, canalization) fail in this setting where climate is changing. One possible explanation is that most large birds and mammals are very broadly adapted and relatively insensitive to changes in their environments, although even the small mammals of the Pleistocene show stasis during climate change, too.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Highlights-
â-º Neo-Darwinian theory views organisms as infinitely sensitive, responsive to their environments. â-º Examined size and shape change of all of the common birds and mammals from Rancho La Brea tar pits. â-º Sampled over the last 35,000 years of climate change during the Last Glacial...Interglacial cycle. â-º Statistical analysis showed complete stasis from 35 ka to 9 ka. â-º Most large birds and mammals are broadly adapted, relatively insensitive to environmental change."-
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379112003289