WaPo
Reason why wolves evolved into dogs: Carbs?
“I think it is a striking case of co-evolution,” said Erik Axelsson, a geneticist at Uppsala University. “The fact that we shared a similar environment in the last 10,000 years caused a similar adaptation. And the big change in the environment was the development of agriculture.”
The findings, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, support the hypothesis that dogs evolved from wolves who found a new food source in refuse on the outskirts of human settlements. Eventually they came to tolerate human contact and were brought into the household to be guards, workers and companions.
Another theory is that wolves were captured by hunter-gatherers, who tamed, bred and eventually settled down with them.
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I’m going with the latter explanation.
Watch the Russian fox breeding experiments on YouTube and you’ll see why.
CPT. Charles on January 24, 2013 at 10:39 PM
I was under the impression that this was always the way modern dogs came about.
nobar on January 24, 2013 at 10:44 PM
Evolved? Somebody shoot me now.
The Rogue Tomato on January 24, 2013 at 10:45 PM
New?
aryeung on January 24, 2013 at 10:55 PM
Damn, you gotta be quick here. You saved me the time of looking up that link.
BTW ~ I once rehabbed a gray fox from malnutrition. It was sweet as a puppy when you picked it up and mean as a badger when you put it down. Odd animal.
Fallon on January 24, 2013 at 11:01 PM
This is a picture from the fox breeding experiment.
Fallon on January 24, 2013 at 11:06 PM
And this co-evolution theory explains what, then, about rats and bears feeding on the refuse at the outskirts of human settlements?
Dusty on January 24, 2013 at 11:07 PM
I suspect somebody’s trying to draw a parallel between the popular theory concerning the ‘self-domestication’ of cats*, and wolves.
Personally, I regard it as a major stretch; dogs/wolves are ‘social animals’, most cat species are not; they tend to be solitary in nature (with obvious exceptions).
[*It is suggested that as man developed agriculture, and stored food, one consequence was the attraction of vermin, which in turn attracted some species of wild cats (the smaller ones) who went to where the food was... which led to constant human contact, and eventual domestication.]
CPT. Charles on January 24, 2013 at 11:08 PM
Carbs, huh? A Carter Thermo-quad? Holly 4 barrel? Maybe a nice Edelbrock?
Warner Todd Huston on January 24, 2013 at 11:09 PM
Nice picture… it shows the genetic variation that developed quite nicely.
Awhile back, there was an even better selection of videos available, but they seem to have gone away… oh well.
CPT. Charles on January 24, 2013 at 11:14 PM
[CPT. Charles on January 24, 2013 at 10:39 PM]
Very interesting. Thanks.
Dusty on January 24, 2013 at 11:21 PM
Eons of domestication.
mythicknight on January 24, 2013 at 11:27 PM
Oh please. Another ridiculous evolution fantasy.
Pork-Chop on January 24, 2013 at 11:36 PM
Sound about right. When Humans diet changed to farm grains over meat as the main source of food, the wolves did too. Same with wild boars became pigs, wildebeests became cows and pigeons became chickens. All thanks eating humans grain scraps.
tjexcite on January 24, 2013 at 11:42 PM
It was the pizza.
Blake on January 25, 2013 at 12:15 AM
And fettuccine.
UltimateBob on January 25, 2013 at 12:56 AM
Yep. And since humans chose which ones in the litter to keep and which ones to dispose of, the ones who were least wolf-like in appearance and demeanor would survive to pass on their genes and the wolf-like ones were disposed of. Non howlers would be especially preferred over the howlers. Uniqueness was a plus, so it would thrive in this situation where it would almost always be a not useful and non survivable trait in the wild and wouldn’t take hold.
Buddahpundit on January 25, 2013 at 3:08 AM
Yes, when the hunter-gatherers discovered pizza, the wolves came in from the forest and domesticated them.
petefrt on January 25, 2013 at 4:50 AM
Fun!
petefrt on January 25, 2013 at 6:20 AM
Hey thanks for the info!
I teach Ecology & also Biology & this is a perfect little short video to add to my discussion of genetics & how populations evolve right before our very eyes!
Badger40 on January 25, 2013 at 8:20 AM
This was in the Old World, so probably Weber or SU: Although if SU, I’d expect dogs to cough a lot and leak oil.
PersonFromPorlock on January 25, 2013 at 9:11 AM