Gigi Chrappa

AP Biology

Current Events #1

September 13, 2017

“What Swims Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck Could Be a Hybrid of Two Duck Species”

The article I decided to read, “What Swims Like a Duck and Quacks Like a Duck Could Be a Hybrid of Two Duck Species” was written by Joanna Klein and was recently published in the New York Times. This article was extremely informative and explains the crossbreeding of duck species. The article states, “when one duck mates with a duck of another species, there’s the risk that one of the original species could cease to exist. And then that duck is a duck no more” (Klein, 1). The article goes into depth, explaining that in a world filled with crucial environmental factors (climate change, people…), hybridization may upset the natural ecological balance. The article warns, although this is not a problem yet, this may become a problem in the near future. It seems odd, but the crossbreeding of duck species may leave the world with completely unexpected results. Instead of creating diversity amongst the duck species, this may actually lead to less diversity amongst the species across all of America. A study was performed on the breeding of mallard ducks with Mottled ducks, examining the hybrids formed. Although both, the mallard and Mottled duck species are still in abundance, history tends to repeat itself. Previously, the Golden Winged Warbler and Blue Winged Warbler interbred. This led to the near extinction of the two species. But, this also led to the creation of a hybrid species with traits from both, the Golden Winged Warbler and the Blue Winged Warbler. There are negative and positive effects of speciation. For example, preferable traits are passed on to the offspring providing for a better suited species in an environment. For example, mice in a warmer climate living on a beach will tend to inherit, over time, fur of a sand tone. And, mice in a cooler climate living in the mountains tend to inherit fur of a darker tone (similar to the shade of the mountains). This happens so that the mice are better suited for an environment and are less susceptible to environmental factors and natural predators. Certain animals such as hawks, would have much more difficulty searching to find a mouse of sand color fur on a sandy beach than finding a darker colored mouse in the sand. However, the negative effects include over population (and therefore a shortage of natural resources and necessary materials for a species to survive and therefore, leads to more competition).

You might be asking, why is this relevant? In reality, there are no environmental problems (as of right now) that will arise with the replacement of one species for the hybrid for another. However, there are several minor factors that may change. For instance, certain birds have inheritable traits (like characteristics of beaks) that serve to crack open the shells to nuts/plants. Over time, if birds with these inheritable traits become extinct, one might notice an abundance of uncracked nuts in a certain area. In particular, for the bird’s health, there are no issues arising (as of right now). The health of the birds should remain stable. In fact, the cross breeding of birds, and all species, will lead to an increase in preferable traits. However, it is still important to preserve the genetic lineage of animals throughout history. 

Regarding the author’s writing techniques, Klein produced a well-developed article with a lavish amount of details. I enjoyed the layout of her writing; she began with a series of rhetorical questions which forced the reader to think. I also enjoyed reading the conclusion of her essay; ending with a quote from one of her students, “The whole idea of speciation is like a mountain range. It’s easy to tell the differences between peaks, but saying where one starts and another begins is very difficult”. However, while reading the article, I began to become confused what the author’s argument was. It was difficult to understand what her stance was on the topic of speciation and it was complicated to understand what ‘call to action’ she had for the readers. Initially, I believed that Klein thought excessive speciation would be detrimental to a society of birds. However, while reading, it seemed that her opinion switched; she then stated that the over speciation of birds has no serious consequences. To fix this, I would recommend that the author clearly states her opinion in a thesis (in an introductory paragraph or somewhere else in the essay) or, overall, provide more evidence supporting her opinion. Overall, the article was a great read and extremely informative. It provided me with knowledge about crossbreeding and it explains how environmental factors may affect the way a species evolves over time.