Species -- A Most Elusive Subject | The Institute for Creation Research

 
Species -- A Most Elusive Subject

As evolution continues to be replaced by good science, Darwinists are programmed to see any change — no matter how slight — as positive evidence validating their tenuous position. Such is the case with California biologist Cristina Sandoval researching the spindly walking stick insect.1

Coloration of these creatures and which bush they prefer was the main reason for this study as well as possibly observing the splitting of the walking sticks "into two distinct species." Ironically, the research by Sandoval uncovered evidence "quite to the contrary" of the long-held view of speciation via "some singular chance event."

Speciation may be defined as the change in populations of organisms within a species into discrete species themselves that can no longer interbreed. But evolutionists are not sure what a species is, so how can one say Sandoval's work is close to observing "biology's biggest leap" — speciation?

Harvard's Steven Palumbi (a staunch anti-creationist) wrote, "The formation of species has long represented one of the most central, yet also one of the most elusive subjects in evolutionary biology"2 and D.C. Presgraves said, "Few topics in evolutionary biology inspire as much controversy as the causes of speciation."3

Whatever the cause, Sandoval's investigation supports the creation model, for speciation among walking sticks may not take an "imponderable period of time." In other words, the originally created kinds of plants and animals we read about in Genesis were able to produce a wide variety of subtypes or subspecies within a short time period.

The issue of speciation regarding walking sticks is much like the 13 "new species" of finch on the Galapagos Islands off South America. Taxpayer-paid biology texts gush that the subtle beak variations (measured in millimeters) of these birds authenticate Darwin's theory. But just as walking sticks remain 100% walking sticks, finches stubbornly remain 100% finches. A secular news magazine quoted two evolutionary biologists who have researched the Galapagos finches for decades as saying, "foreseeing how a species is going to evolve is as difficult as predicting the weather."4  In fact, an evolutionist admitted, "Back in 1983, for instance . . . a male cactus finch on Daphne Major, a scandens, courted a female fortis. . . . like Romeo and Juliet: they belonged to two different species. Yet during the chaos of the great flood [on the Islands in the 1980s], they mated and produced four chicks in one brood."5

Science shows that whether they are vertebrates (finches), invertebrates (walking sticks), or even bacteria—any observed change is minor and horizontal in nature, with no net increase in genetic information leading to large (vertical) change, or macroevolution.


1. Franklin, D. "Net Gains," Smithsonian, October, 2002.
2. Palumbi, S. "Marine Speciation," Ann. Rev. of Ecology & Systematics, 1994, p. 548.
3. Presgraves, D. "Postzygotic Isolation," Evolution, 56(6), 2002, p. 1168.
4. Guterl, F. "Evolution: Birds Do It," Newsweek, May 6, 2002, p. 11.
5. Weiner, J. The Beak of the Finch, 1994.

Cite this article: Sherwin, F. 2003. Species--A Most Elusive Subject. Acts & Facts. 32 (4).

The Latest
NEWS
Reflecting on Five Years of the ICR Discovery Center
Since its grand opening on September 2, 2019, the ICR Discovery Center has encouraged thousands of visitors from all over the world with science that...

NEWS
The Magnificence of a Colorful Autumn: Beauty and Complexity...
Scientists have long endeavored to comprehend the transformations that take place in trees and plants throughout the autumn season. While lacking complete...

NEWS
September 2024 ICR Wallpaper
"God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: Geysers
by Renée Dusseau and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
Sharing Our Creator's Truth
My name is Bill, and I’m the information technology manager at the Institute for Creation Research. I keep everything technical running and make...

ACTS & FACTS
Engineered Parallel Gene Codes Defy Evolution
Researchers over the past decade have been characterizing new, previously hidden genetic codes embedded within the same sections of genes that code...

ACTS & FACTS
La Brea Tar Pits at Hancock Park: Post-Flood Catastrophes
The La Brea Tar Pits have fascinated visitors ever since Spanish explorer Gaspar de Portolá chronicled the site in 1769.1 But even...

ACTS & FACTS
Proclaiming Christ in Paradise: An Interview with Dr. Brian Thomas
For more than 50 years, the Institute for Creation Research has investigated the evidence showing how science supports the Bible’s account of...

ACTS & FACTS
Why Biology Needs A Theory of Biological Design—Part 4
Nobel Prize-winning German physicist Max Planck perceptively observed that “if you change the way you look at things, the things you look...

NEWS
Long Ages and the Bible—What’s the Problem?
The problem with mixing long ages and the Bible stems from how someone interprets Genesis 1 and 2. If these chapters are read as symbolic and/or poetic...