(This is Part 1 of a series.)
As far as I can tell, the universal law in this reality is:
Adapt or die.
That is, since the situation in which a lifeform is living can and will change from time to time, a lifeform must be able to adapt relatively quickly to the new situation or environment when that happens, or it will die off.
It is because our situations change by way of what evolutionary biologists call "punctuated equilibrium" that we can be fooled into thinking that adaptation is not necessary.
Biologists used to think that evolution proceeded by gradual movement, but that has now been disproven. Evolution, they now know, proceeds for any given species by long periods of relative calm and stability—where the species is well adapted to its environment—broken by relatively brief but intense periods of change where the species either adapts relatively quickly—or goes extinct.
The classic example of course is the dinosaurs. When the earth suddenly became much colder the dinosaurs couldn't adapt. By and large, their bodies were cold-blooded, meaning that their body temperature and metabolic rate went up and down with the external temperature. When the earth chilled, the metabolic rate of the dinasaurs went below the rate at which they could sustain life.
Meanwhile the mammals, an evolutionary offshoot which came into being about 150 million years ago, had invented an evolutionary advantage called "warm-bloodedness" which meant that their internal body temperature and metabolic rate were able to stay relatively stable while external temperatures fluctuated. Thus when the planet chilled the mammals were able to continue functioning—and lived.
Nature might seem cruel in this way, killing off entire species from time to time if they can't adapt to changing circumstances, but actually it's a blessing—because it means that those species which are here tend to be well-adapted to their environment. The universal law of Adapt or die is actually a gift from Life to itself, assuring that normally a relatively high degree of harmony exists between life and its environment.
(This is the end of Part 1. Go to Part 2.)
—jim sloman, 10.9.06
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