quote:
No it's not. Variability is the number of possible genetic expressions available -- numbers of genes, numbers of alleles, whatever. Mutation is simply one change or genetic expression, it does nothing whatever to the variability factor.
By definition a mutation (in the context of genes) converts one allele to another - and there is no factor limiting it to alleles already in the population. Thus mutation is a source of new variation..
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The cheetah continues to seem to me to be THE emblem of the direction of speciation, that is, in the direction as far from any evolutionary potential as you can get
It shouldn't be, because the cheetah's problmes have got nothing to do with speciation. They are due to the species practically being wiped out.