FRUIT flies accidentally introduced to the Americas two decades ago have
evolved at an unprecedented rate. The finding has rung alarm bells about the
practice of deliberately introducing animals to control pests.
“This observation of very rapid evolution may prod ecologists to realise that
invading species are not set in stone but can evolve quickly in response to
their new environment,” says Raymond Huey of the University of Washington in
Seattle. He says that evolution could drastically alter the way introduced
species interact with native ones.
Huey and his colleagues discovered the unexpectedly rapid evolution while
studying the fruit fly…
