Punctuated Equilibria: The Basics

I don't think that CRR wrote the truth about that here.

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1. There are two common uses of "gradualism," one of which is more traditional, the other of which is equivalent to Eldredge and Gould's "phyletic gradualism."
2. Darwin was not a "phyletic gradualist," contrary to the claims of Eldredge and Gould.
3. PE is not anti-Darwinian; in fact, the scientific basis and conclusions of PE originated with Charles Darwin.
4. PE does not require any unique explanatory mechanism (e.g. macromutation or saltation).
5. Eldredge and Gould's PE is founded on positive evidence, and does not "explain away" negative evidence (e.g. a purported lack of transitional fossils).
All You Need to Know about Punctuated Equilibrium (almost)

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PE explains gaps between species in the fossil record, but it doesn't use saltation to explain it. A gap in the fossil record is a gap in the fossil record, not a gap in the actual evolutionary history of the species. That would also be false. Gould and Eldredge pointed to several instances where there was rapid evolution in the fossil record, complete with transitional fossils between species:

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Because they feel that PE was concocted to "explain away" a purported lack of transitional fossils, some critics have maintained that Eldredge and Gould based their theory of PE on negative evidence. This is a strange argument, however, since the paper where they first proposed PE was completely based on two independent paleontological studies (on pulmonate gastropods and on Phacopsid trilobites), which they described in detail with extremely good temporal resolution. Using positive evidence, these studies showed stasis and rapid evolution that supports the PE model. Furthermore, Gould and Eldredge's second PE paper also extensively analyzed well-resolved paleontological evidence in support of their hypothesis.
All You Need to Know about Punctuated Equilibrium (almost)

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They were able to find positive evidence of allopatric speciation with transitional fossils between species, and then evidence of that new species replacing the less derived parent population.Edited by Taq, : No reason given.Edited by Taq, : No reason given.Edited by Taq, : No reason given.

This gets right to the heart of the matter.

More correctly I should have said "The PE model was developed to explain large morphological gaps in the fossil record, seeming saltations.

and again what are "large morphological gaps?" So, again, what is a "large morphological gap?"Enjoy

That is false. PE was used to explain rapid evolution between species, followed by longer periods of stasis. The gap between species is not a large morphological gap.

The idea of Punk Eek is that the evolution takes place "off stage" where it isn't recorded in the fossil record so that when it later reappears there is a large change, an apparent saltation. The evolution that takes place "off stage" is assumed to follow normal Darwinian processes.

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According to this idea, the changes leading to a new species don't usually occur in the mainstream population of an organism, where changes wouldn't endure because of so much interbreeding among like creatures. Rather, speciation is more likely at the edge of a population, where a small group can easily become separated geographically from the main body and undergo changes that can create a survival advantage and thus produce a new, non-interbreeding species.

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This hypothesis predicts that the fossil record at any one site is unlikely to record the process of speciation. If a site records that the ancestral species lived there, the new species would probably be evolving somewhere else. The small size of the isolated population which is evolving into a new species reduces the odds that any of its members will be fossilized. The new species will only leave fossils at the same site as the old one if it becomes successful enough to move back into its ancestral range or different enough to exist alongside its relatives.
Evolution: Library: Punctuated Equilibrium

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Note that evolution can potentially take place more quickly in a small population because the average time for a change to reach fixity is correspondingly smaller. On the other hand the smaller population has less chance of producing a favourable mutation.

Gould and Eldredge cited two examples of PE being recorded in the fossil record:"PE sometimes is claimed to be a theory resting upon the lack of evidence rather than upon evidence. This is a curious, but false claim, since Eldredge and Gould spent a significant portion of their original work examining two separate lines of evidence (one involving pulmonate gastropods, the other one involving Phacopsid trilobites) demonstrating the issues behind PE (1972). Similarly, discussion of actual paleontological evidence consumes a significant proportion of pages in Gould and Eldredge 1977. This also answers those who claimed that E&G said that PE was unverifiable."
Punctuated EquilibriaThe gap between species is not a large morphological gaps. On top of that, Gould has stated that there are plenty of transitional fossils filling those gaps:"Since we proposed punctuated equilibria to explain trends, it is infuriating to be quoted again and again by creationistswhether through design or stupidity, I do not knowas admitting that the fossil record includes no transitional forms. Transitional forms are generally lacking at the species level, but they are abundant between larger groups."--Stephen Jay Gould, "Evolution as Fact and Theory" That is false. The observation of a nested hierarchy demonstrates that the processes were Darwinian. It isn't assumed. Selection is often stronger at the edges of a species range meaning that mutations which are only slightly beneficial in the center of the species range can be much more strongly beneficial at the edges of the range. There is also the possibility that a neutral or even slightly deleterious mutation in the main population can be beneficial at the edges of the species range. Therefore, the subpopulation may already have the beneficial mutations it needs in low numbers.

Using Punctuated Equilibria as a reference
PE essential features are peripatric speciation in a geographically limited region and stratigraphically limited extent such that sampling of the fossil record will reveal a pattern of most species in stasis, with abrupt appearance of newly derived species being a consequence of ecological succession and dispersion.While Eldredge and Gould acknowledge that geological processes contribute to the "gappiness" of the fossil record, they also assert that PE is by far the more important consideration in that regard.Or in other words evolution takes place "off stage" where it isn't recorded in the fossil record so that when it later reappears there is a large change, an apparent saltation. The evolution that takes place "off stage" is assumed to follow normal Darwinian processes.

They also cited instances where rapid peripatric speciation was recorded in the fossil record. Also, it isn't assumed to be a Darwinian process. We observe that the end result is a nested hierarchy which is evidence that it was a Darwinian process.

Athesits try and explain all those inconvenient gaps with their hypothetical (ie, imaginary) PE. But what is revealed by the fossil record is a very nice fit for another hypothesis - progressive creation (over millions of years). The sooner Christians dump their stupid theistic evolution, the better. Any Christianity based on an atheist fantasy is bound to be an embarrassing failure.Edited by Dredge, : No reason given.Edited by Dredge, : No reason given.

Gould and Eldredge pointed to several places in the fossil record where PE was captured without gaps. Perhaps you should read the actual paper:http://www.sciacchitano.it/...d%20puctuated%20equilibria.pdfStart at the bottom of pg. 99. They were able to show an evolving population of snails with intermediates that evolved in one place. As other species of snail died out in other regions the evolving snail species from one region moved in and took over those territories. The fossil record in these areas showed an abrupt change in species, but this due to migration of the species that evolved in a different region.PE isn't imaginary. It is very real.

PE is magic masquerading as science.

How sad, an idiot masquerading as a troll.

Welcome back dredgie. I agree that PE is magic masquerading as science. I don't know where you get the notion of a Christian Progressive Creation, looks to me like a one-time thing in scripture, but Punctuated Equilibrium is a laughable delusion. It's based on the Big Delusion of course, the idea that the fossil record is to be read as evolution over time, but of course if it's nothing but the record of what died in the Flood that's ridiculous. It's really amusing to see what is nothing but an accidental collection of dead things treated as showing an evolving population, complete with wonderfully imaginative scenarios of how this population moved into that area and another joined up with it and so on and so forth. The historical sciences bring out the creative thinking, that's for sure.. Edited by Faith, : No reason given.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.