Ring evolution

TRIGGER WARNING: Evolutionary biology. A while back, when I said in the comments of an evolution post that there were no good “ring species,” a few readers asked me what I meant by that. “What about the salamander Ensatina eschscholtzii? Or seagulls in the genus Larus? Aren’t those good ring species?” My answer was that those had been shown not to be ring species in the classic sense, but there was still one species that might be a candidate: the greenish warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides around the Tibetan Plateau. But now that one, too, has been struck off the list of ring species, leaving no good cases. Its removal from the class is documented in Nature (reference and link below), in a group headed by Darren Irwin, a professor at the University of British Columbia and including my next-door Chicago colleague Trevor Price. But first, what is a ring species? Ring species constitute one big and supposedly continuous population in which the attainment of biological speciation (to people like me, that means the evolution of two populations to the point that they cannot produce fertile hybrids were they to live in the same place in nature) does not require full geographic isolation of those populations. Rather, speciation in that continuous population occurs through a gradual spread of the range of the animals, coupled with selection in different places that causes their genetic divergence. It was long thought by many that for a single species to become two species—to undergo...

The work of Tom Devitt by the Tom Devitt and a map showing the range of Ensatina eschscholtzii in California. The colors correspond to the different subspecies. Photo courtesy of Tom Devitt If you’ve skimmed a high school biology textbook, you’ve probably seen the picture: multicolored salamanders meander around California, displaying subtle shifts in appearance as they circle its Central Valley. This is Ensatina eschscholtzii, and it’s so well known because it is a living example of Ensatina has been recognized as a ring species since the 1940s, when biologist Robert C. Stebbins trooped up and down California to investigate its range. Since then, several generations of scientists in Stebbins’ institution, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley, have continued these studies, digging deeper into Ensatina’s history and biology. At this point, one might think we’d know it all. What more could there be to learn after 60 years of research on a common salamander? “Lots!” says Tom Devitt, a graduate student at the museum. Tom studies Ensatina to flesh out its evolutionary history — but not just for Ensatina’s sake. This classic example sheds light on the basic evolutionary processes that shape all life. In this research profile, we will explore these key questions: • What are ring species? • How are multiple lines of evidence used to evaluate a single hypothesis? • How can experiments be used to learn about evolutionary history? • What biological mechanisms contribute to...

Menu • Home • Evolution 101 • An introduction to evolution: what is evolution and how does it work? • The history of life: looking at the patterns – Change over time and shared ancestors • Mechanisms: the processes of evolution – Selection, mutation, migration, and more • Microevolution – Evolution within a population • Speciation – How new species arise • Macroevolution – Evolution above the species level • The big issues – Pacing, diversity, complexity, and trends • Teach Evolution • Lessons and teaching tools • Teaching Resources • Image Library • Using research profiles with students • Active-learning slides for instruction • Using Evo in the News with students • Guide to Evo 101 and Digging Data • Conceptual framework • Alignment with the Next Generation Science Standards • • Teaching guides • K-2 teaching guide • 3-5 teaching guide • 6-8 teaching guide • 9-12 teaching guide • Undergraduate teaching guide • • Misconceptions about evolution • • Dealing with objections to evolution • Information on controversies in the public arena relating to evolution • Learn Evolution Robert Stebbins examining an Ensatina salamander in 1951. Photo courtesy of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Archives. Ensatina‘s basic story was laid out by Robert Stebbins 30 years before Tom was born in 1977. Based on the ring-like distribution of the different forms, Robert had proposed that the species started off in Northern California and Oregon and then spread south along both sides of the Centr...

Like many entrepreneurs, Jamie Siminoff has spent his life looking for problems to solve. But his biggest idea—the Ring Video Doorbell—knocked on his front door. Siminoff, now Ring’s chief inventor, was tinkering in his Los Angeles garage when he realized he kept missing deliveries because he couldn’t hear the doorbell. Siminoff searched online for a doorbell that could connect to his smartphone. When he came up empty, he built one himself. Ring Chief Inventor Jamie Siminoff shows off Doorbot, the first prototype for what would become the Ring Video Doorbell.The result was the first prototype for what would become the Ring Video Doorbell—a smart doorbell with a motion-detecting video camera that could send real-time notifications to a mobile app. When Siminoff installed the prototype on his front door, his wife, Erin, immediately loved it—not just for its convenience, but for the security of being able to safely answer the door from anywhere. “It’s like caller ID for the front door,” she said. On the front door—and beyondA decade later and now part of Amazon, Ring offers 50 devices that include security cameras for homes, cars, and business, along with alarms, sensors, and smart lighting. “The name Ring has a couple of meanings,” Siminoff said. “It’s the sound a doorbell makes, but it also comes from the ring of security we create around your home and, in time, your community.” “We never add technology for technology’s sake,” added Jason Mitura, Ring’s chief product office...

Three years ago I brought a small group of engineers together to work out of my garage with the goal of building something cool and important. Our “office” garage(November 2011) Doorbot was a very difficult product to produce, between the goal of a battery that lasts one year, video, instant notifications, mobile apps, etc. However even with a skeleton crew and lack of proper funding we were able to produce and ship doorbots to our customers starting in November of 2013. Less than 1 year from when we had announced the product. Looking back this was a pretty incredible feat. Presenting the doorbot on Shark Tank (November 2013) Doorbots success was just scratching the surface of our real goals. Armed with the profits from sales and $5.5 million from investorswe began recruiting some of the best engineering talent in the world (a bold statement but I really think our engineers are the best) to build our next device and the foundation for our company. Today we are 42 team members, 30 of which are engineers! The Ring Video Doorbell was built from the ground up. It is the result of listening and learning from our 20,000 customers around the world. Ring was built to be a truly meaningful device for the owner. Not just a smart doorbell giving you the convenience of seeing who is at the door on your smartphone from anywhere but a doorbell that could provide meaningful security at its core, and smart doorbell functionality as a convenient benefit. And out of all of this came our mis...