« TWiM #28: Not unorganized bags of enzymes | Main | Salmonella’s Exclusive Intestinal Restaurant »
If small microbes tend to be eaten by bigger ones, why aren’t all microbes big?
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.
Comments are moderated, and will not appear until the author has approved them.
Your Information
(Name is required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)
I am also reminded of the creationists' confusion, which might be paraphrased "if amphibians evolved from fish, why are there still fish?". In many environments, larger microbes (all else being equal) might be selected against. In particular, large microbes that depend on eating smaller ones do poorly once they have eaten all the smaller ones.
Posted by: Nathan Myers | March 19, 2012 at 08:04 PM