James Gorman, NY Times
31 May, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/05/science/skull-analysis-charts-the-changes-from-dinosaurs-to-birds.html?ref=evolution
Summary
Most people would know, or even have heard that birds were evolved from Dinosaurs, but the amount of change between the two species still calls for new research. A recent study focuses on the comparison of size and shape of skulls. Skulls in birds are proven to not change in shape, only size, as a result of evolutionary changes. This in result looks like the skull of a baby dinosaur. This shows that as birds evolved, their growth patterns changed so they wouldn't change their skull shape from its juvenile version. Dinosaurs obviously didn't have this trait because they were the ones that were changed due to this mutation. The dinosaur's juvenile skulls resemble those of matured birds.
Scientists say that the dinosaurs that gave rise to birds may have had feathers but didn't fly and didn't resemble any modern day birds. The characteristics of birds like being able to spot things from thousands of feet and swooping down to catch it are obviously far from running around on the land. This is obviously a very dramatic evolutionary change which causes many scientists to still ponder the fact today.
Connection
This article relates to our studies in class because it deals with the idea of evolution and how species change. It talks about how dinosaurs evolved into birds. Because of the mutations in genes, another thing we studied in class, that allow skulls to mature have shown that adult bird skulls resemble baby dinosaur skulls. This article also talks about comparing skulls and bones to determine what they are related to, the article talking about birds and dinosaurs. We have been learning about that in class as well. This article, I believe, ties in really well to our studies in biology.
Why is it a benefit for a bird not to change its school shape through evolutionary change?
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