Stability In Species

Nature's beauty is reflected in how it provides seasonal foods suited to our needs. In summer, we get juicy fruits like watermelons, mangoes, and oranges, which keep us hydrated and cool. These fruits are rich in water content and vitamins, helping us beat the heat.

In winter, nature gives us oily and warming foods like nuts, seeds, mustard oil, and root vegetables. These foods provide warmth, energy, and essential fats to help our bodies cope with the cold.

This natural balance ensures we stay healthy and nourished throughout the year.

This same pattern of stabilizing the ecosystem is seen in the lifespan of species: the greater the multiplying capacity, the shorter the lifespan. This is nature's way of balancing the population.

Gestaion period , Incubation period and life span of some species.

The gestation period and incubation period (pregnancy duration) and lifespan of species vary greatly across animals. Here are some examples:

Elephant – Gestation: ~22 months | Lifespan: 60–70 years

Human – Gestation: ~9 months | Lifespan: ~70–90 years

Dog – Gestation: ~2 months | Lifespan: 10–15 years

Cat – Gestation: ~2 months | Lifespan: 12–18 years

Mouse – Gestation: ~20 days | Lifespan: ~2 years

Chicken – Incubation: ~21 days | Lifespan: ~5–10 years

Parrot – Incubation: ~2–4 weeks | Lifespan: 50+ years (some species)

Crocodile – Incubation: ~2–3 months | Lifespan: 70–100 years

Turtle – Incubation: ~2–4 months | Lifespan: 80–150+ years

Dolphin – Gestation: ~12 months | Lifespan: 40–60 years

Shark – Gestation: 6–22 months (varies) | Lifespan: 20–100+ years

Almost all species follow this pattern ,the longer the gestation and incubation period, the longer the lifespan. The higher the multiplying capacity, the shorter the lifespan.

Species with shorter reproduction times mutate quickly in response to threats. For survival against any threat, a species will undergo epigenetic changes.

Epigenetic changes allow rapid adaptation to environmental conditions without waiting for genetic mutations.

Epigenetic fear inheritance study conducted by Brian Dias and Kerry Ressler in 2013 at Emory University. The researchers conditioned male mice to fear a specific scent (acetophenone, which smells like cherries) by pairing it with mild electric shocks. Later, they bred these mice, and shockingly, their offspring—who had never been exposed to the scent or the shocks—also showed fear responses to acetophenone. Even the grandchildren exhibited the same fear.

1. Epigenetic Changes in Sperm: The sperm of fear-conditioned mice showed alterations in the gene encoding the odor receptor for acetophenone. This suggests that trauma-induced changes in gene expression were passed down.

2. Structural Changes in the Brain: The offspring had more neurons and enhanced sensitivity in the brain areas associated with detecting the specific odor, even though they had never been exposed to the fear-conditioning process.

This study supports the idea that traumatic experiences in one generation can alter the biology and behavior of future generations through epigenetics. While this research was done in mice, similar mechanisms are being explored in humans, especially in studies on descendants of Holocaust survivors and other trauma survivors.

Through such kind of changes herd immunity is created and this can be created faster by those species who have shorter reproducing times,early menarche also.

Here one trend is also seen, larger-bodied species tend to have delayed menarche (age at first reproduction), gestation, and incubation periods. This pattern follows biological scaling laws, where larger animals develop more slowly but often have longer lifespans and lower reproductive rates.

Larger animals have slower metabolic rates, meaning their bodies develop and mature more slowly.

Example: Elephants have a 22-month gestation period, while mice are born in just 19-21 days.

Bigger animals usually have larger, more complex brains, requiring longer developmental periods.

Example: Humans, whales, and elephants take years to reach maturity compared to smaller mammals like rodents.

Larger species tend to follow a K-selection reproductive strategy, meaning they have fewer offspring, invest more in parental care, and take longer to mature.

Example: Whales and great apes give birth to one baby at a time and raise them for years, while smaller animals like rabbits reproduce quickly.

This theory is baseless—that dinosaurs died solely due to floods and calamities. While these may have been contributing factors, they were not the primary reason. If the calamity had targeted whole Earth , it raises the question: why do other species still exist, and why does life continue on Earth?

1 The above points will definitely conclude that dinosaurs, due to their structure, had a long incubation period and a delayed menarche period.So they did not adapt earlier like other smaller species.

2 They had a longer lifespan, which led to rivalry for progeny, resulting in the killing of younger dinosaurs.

Nature tends to phase out larger species over time.It is not easy for larger animals to hide their presence, so they are becoming extinct like dinosaurs, day by day.

Larger and longer species are more vulnerable to extinction due to several biological and environmental factors:

Larger animals usually have longer gestation periods and fewer offspring.

This makes it harder for them to recover from population declines.

They need more food, and any disruption in the food chain affects them first.

Habitat destruction reduces food availability, making survival difficult.

Their size makes them easier targets for predators and hunters.

They struggle to find shelter from natural disasters.

Larger animals are more affected by climate shifts, as their bodies take longer to adapt.

Droughts, temperature extremes, and habitat changes impact them more.

Large species like dinosaurs, mammoths, and now giraffes and elephants face higher extinction risks.

Yes, the food chain often collapses from the top down. When larger species go extinct, it disrupts the entire ecosystem.

Nature is removing larger species, pushing toward a smaller, more adaptable ecosystem.