Actually, jumping ability probably came first. The first few mutations that initiated the subsequent development of wings were probably an enhancement to the ability to jump.
Simply being blown about by the wind is too random for a motile organism to gain a consistent advantage in finding food.

Wings, nor any other structures develop on their own. Those changes are selected for by the environment, so there has to be a survival advantage in possessing such structures.


The predator - prey relationship is not the cause of flight. The series of chance mutations led to the development of wings are the root cause. The evolution of wings occurred in incremental changes over a long period of time, and each one of those changes provided a survival advantage greater than the change that preceded it. Those individuals who can fly farther and/or faster tend to survive, reproduce, and pass that trait on to their offspring, whether those individuals are predators or prey. So, natural selection favored the incremental development of wings, and continued to select for improved abilities of flight. For example, as the prey get better at it, natural selection dictates that the predators also get better at it. Otherwise, the loser of the race goes extinct.

I think it was Dawkins who said, "Evolution is a non random process driven by random events". If you can wrap your mind around that, you'll be far less fuzzy on this evolution stuff.

 

I follow you Mike, but the Earths environment has changed dramatically on a geological scale many times. That includes wind and it's constant influence. Next to water wind is the most expressive force on Earth when it comes to changing topography. 10,000 years of 20knots would change a lot of things and allow a random mutation in the right niche to prevail.

Dean intrigued me awhile ago by dispelling cultural evolution. Then he really stuck it to me when he said evolution wasn't linear. I'm just trying to understand. He keeps bringing me back to random mutation. Kind of like Shroedinger's cat or the Yale experiments that seemed to prove the universe is subjective or did they?

I'm getting there


fltsfshr

 

I was trying to steer clear of the issue of population density being another selection factor. I was afraid I would have to write a book if I brought too many possibilities to the table.

Very true. Sharks are an excellent example. They've been around for approximately three hundred million years, yet they've undergone very few changes since they first appeared. That's a very good indicator that sharks are very well suited to their environment and under very little selective pressure to change.

 

Let's see if I can help you out with this linear thing. Evolution appears linear to us because we only get to see the successes, never the failures.
Here's a very poor analogy: Evolution isn't a sniper firing a single bullet from Point A to Point B, it's more like a mad bomber detonating a shrapnel filled bomb. Some of that shrapnel finds a target, but much of it doesn't.

 

So what your saying is that if a mad bomber caused a mutation that created the first blonde and that blonde passed on her blondeness and everybody liked it, then it's true blondes have more fun.


On that note.....it's 5pm somewhere or it was at least an hour ago...




fltsfshr

Have a good weekend

 

Something like that.

Just to confuse you further, the selection for wings could've begun in a similar fashion. For sake of argument, let's say that the precursor to wings first appeared as a pair of dorsal nubs that had no impact on an individual's ability to obtain food or escape predators. But, the nubs were thought to be extremely sexy in a proto bug sort of way by other members of the population. The nubs give the lucky guys and gals who have them an edge in obtaining mates and they will tend to reproduce more frequently. So, the trait for nubs gets passed along to offspring more frequently than the no-nub trait. Eventually, the entire population would possess the nub trait and the no-nub lineage would come to an end. The nubless go extinct while sitting home alone and sexually frustrated while downloading proto bug p-rn.