Artificial Selection - Is the term simply convenient?

But I think that if you're doing something with the possibility of leading to an ecological disaster, it would be better to do it slow and careful.I don't care if a genetically engineered (20 year variety) food turns out to be bad for human consumption. But if a genetically engineered plant turn out to be bad for bees, then you're heading for an ecological disaster.Moose

No references, but a number of years back I heard (public radio, I believe) about an lab experiment designed to mimic the results of commercial fishing (via nets).In the wild, the larger fish are preferentially caught because the smaller fish get through the nets. So, to mimic this in the lab population, the larger fish were preferentially removed. This resulted in a population evolution resulting in smaller full grown fish.MooseAdded by edit - What seems to be a related reference:
Evolutionary response to size-selective mortality in an exploited fish populationAbstract:

quote:

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Many collapsed fish populations have failed to recover after a decade or more with little fishing. This may reflect evolutionary change in response to the highly selective mortality imposed by fisheries. Recent experimental work has demonstrated a rapid genetic change in growth rate in response to size-selective harvesting of laboratory fish populations. Here, we use a 30-year time-series of back-calculated lengths-at-age to test for a genetic response to size-selective mortality in the wild in a heavily exploited population of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Controlling for the effects of density- and temperature-dependent growth, the change in mean length of 4-year-old cod between offspring and their parental cohorts was positively correlated with the estimated selection differential experienced by the parental cohorts between this age and spawning. This result supports the hypothesis that there have been genetic changes in growth in this population in response to size-selective fishing. Such changes may account for the continued small size-at-age in this population despite good conditions for growth and little fishing for over a decade. This study highlights the need for management regimes that take into account the evolutionary consequences of fishing.

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Full article at cite.Edited by Minnemooseus, : Added by edit.