Text 1989, 73 rader
Skriven 2006-06-07 08:26:48 av Glen Jamieson
     Kommentar till en text av Dave Sacerdote
Ärende: SQUIRRELS  60606
========================
 -=> Quoting Dave Sacerdote to Dale Shipp <=-

 DS> Note to JW:  Black squirrels are a lot more common than you may
 DS> think. 
 
 DSh>   We were told that the melanistic trait was actually 
 DSh>   due to a recessive gene, but if that were true then 
 DSh>   I wonder how they could have become the dominant 
 DSh>   variety on campus.

 DS> Longmeadow MA also has a population of black squirrels and they
 DS> are beginning to replace the common greys.  This is actually
 DS> quite possible given the way recessive characteristics work:

Thanks, Br Mendel, for your explanation.

 DS> So, out of 28 offspring you would have:

 DS> 10 "true" grey
 DS> 10 grey carrying the black gene
 DS> 8 "true" black

Agreed, and nicely reasoned.

 DS> If the black coloration is a trait unto itself, the black squirrel
 DS> population will always be stable or growing slightly since 
 DS> carriers + blacks always outnumber "true" greys.  But if the 
 DS> black pigmentation gene is associated with another trait favorable
 DS> to survival (intelligence, perhaps, or greater aggression) it 
 DS> would be well within probability to see the black squirrel
 DS> population grow as more squirrels begin to carry 2 recessive genes.

I suggest that the black squirrels could have an advantage in being
less visible to night-flying raptors such as owls.

 DS> The greys would likely never die out, but would indeed become a
 DS> minority.

 DS> [Warning: anecdotal evidence below - this is not tested data]
 DS> In Longmeadow, in the area near Baypath College and St. Mary's
 DS> RC church, the population of black squirrels which was small 
 DS> when Lynn was a kid at St. Mary's School is now the dominant
 DS> squirrel population.  In the past 15 years or so, I have only
 DS> seen 1 black squirrel carcass on the side of the road, but many
 DS> dead greys. That could be an indicator that the blackies are
 DS> more savvy of automobile traffic, or that they are more
 DS> territorial and don't stray from their turf so much.

 DS> Human intervention could be a factor as well.  Black squirrels
 DS> are unusual to most people, and many people find the sable
 DS> coats attractive.  People seem more willing to feed blackies,
 DS> who then adapt, lose some of their fear of humans, endear 
 DS> themselves further to their patrons, get fed more, and so
 DS> on (again, giving them a survival advantage.)

So there is a wonderful subject for research.  All you have to do is
to persuade your Minister for the Environment to give you a grant, and
you will be set for the next 10 generations of squirrels.

To change the subject slightly, considering your own antecedents, you
may be able to advise me, or supply a recipe for a wonderful
bruscietta I came across a couple of years ago in Firenze.  It used
slices of eggplant as the base, with toasted chopped garlic topping.
I have been trying to reproduce it, but so far without success.
Mainly I haven't been able to get the light, tender, but not soggy or
burned texture of the eggplant.

Do you have any recollection of aged aunties or grandparents making
something like that?
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