On Fri, 28 Aug 1998, Charles Swift wrote:

> Just wanted to point at that just because a particular species is adaptable
> does not necessarily mean that it is evolving.

This discussion appears not to be about evolution but about change,
changes in the distributions and relative abundances of animals.
Perhaps someday, climate change will allow the very rare Larch
Mountain Salamander to multiply and spread and become as ubiquitous
as the Cabbage White butterfly. Such a climate change may, however,
cause the Black-necked Stilt to forsake the Pacific Northwest completely.
Such a situation would not represent evolution in the sense that Darwin
used the term.

But, if the Larch Mountain Salamander were to mutate such that garbage,
refuse, and rubbish provided ideal conditions for the mutated form which,
let's say, has very thick skin and a viscous mucous secretion which help
it survive among discarded Drano cans. Suddenly, this new form of Larch
Mountain Salamander, aptly described by someone as oh, maybe, the Trash
Mountain Salamander, would be an example of evolution.

Kelly McAllister