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When, in a habitat
(terrestrial, aquatic, or aerial)
one or more of the basic abiotic
ingredients of life (oxygen, food,
or water) are in decline, we say
that the said habitat is
being ecologically pressed
(ecopressed).
That ecopressure
could
come from two, and only two,
sources:
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i) one, coming from external,
uncontrollable factors
(be it from a drought,
from a volcano
eruption, or from the
impact of an asteroid),
called exter press
or outer
press and
ii) the
other, coming from
within the internal
pressure, called the inner
or intra press,
resulted from the self-induced
ecopressure
process triggered by
the most dominant
species (domispec) that,
through its rapid
overpopulation, began
rapidly depleting the
natural abiotic
resources of that
habitat which was not
able to replenish
itself, to keep up
with the ever growing
consumption demand.
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asteroid
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We call ecological system (ecosystem),
the biotic-abiotic (bioabi)
amalgam of a habitat.
 A
species from its birth experience
continuously ecological
pressure (ecopress).
Natural selection (natsel),
through ecopress,
will differentiate and eliminate the less
adaptable species to the ecological
pressure from the
once that are more adaptable to it, creating
as such better adaptable
to change (adaptoc)
lineages. We formalize that recognition of
the beneficial effect of the ecopressure
to the successful development of species
into
The First Theorem of
Ecopressure (1st
TOFEC):
On The Beneficial
Characteristic of Sustained
Moderate Environmental
Pressure
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A
quasi-steady and tempered
ecopressure
is always beneficial and
necessary for the global
development of a successful
species.
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 Proof:
Natural
selection (natsel), by eliminating
species that are less adaptable
to the environmental pressure,
will develop a stronger more
adaptable lineage for its
challenging evolutionary
development.
Thus, for a
successful grow and evolutionary
development of a species, a
steady, temperate
eco-strangulation is necessary
being, as such, most beneficial.
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Remark: In studying the
embryonal
Nature (Embryna), we recognized
(point 2, of the Ultimate Marks of Creation) that a stable
material entity once created is
endowed, at its birth, with a resistance to
change (RETOC). As such, a
stable ecological
niche (ecolon), upon its
formation, is endowed with an
inborn RETOC.
 For a most
beneficial development, a
moderate controled ecopressure must exist
whose strength should stay
preferably close to, but not to
exceed, the upper limit of RETOC. And at the end
of the next page, we are going
to show how this beneficial
development (bendev) is
being manifested to the current
evolved human species.
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The Second Theorem of
Ecopressure (2nd
TOFEC):
On the
Detrimental Characteristic
for Lack of Environmental
Pressure
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The less ecopressure a species will have, the weaker its resilience and
dominance will
be. That is to
say, that the
more
protection a species
will have, the
weaker and
less adaptable
to change it
will end up to
be.
As such,
overprotective
species are
dammed in
their
successful
development
and doomed to
self-extinction.
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QED.
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The Third Theorem of
Ecopressure (3rd
TOFEC):
The
Biotic-Abiotic
Interdependence
Characteristic
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The biotic and abiotic life develop
a reciprocal interdependence
characteristic via their ecological
pressure (ecopress), as follows:
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When
the biotic
life strangulates
the abiotic
life of the
habitat by
excessive
consumption, the abiotic
life in turn, by
not being able
completely to be
replenished, will
begin
strangulating the
biotic
life by reducing
the available
consumption
supply.
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Thus, the evolution
of an ecosystem has an
innermost dependency of its ecopressure:
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if
it is too
excessive, it will
perish but,
if it is moderate,
it will benefit by
flourishing.
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As such, an
ecopress
differentiation needs to be made between
a quasi steady ecopress
that is tempered and moderated and
of
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an intense
accelerated ecopress that is at the
verge of passing a tipping point of
no return (tiponor).
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with
the first, exerting a beneficial influence,
while the latter, exerting a lethal
influence, as detailed below.
The Fourth Theorem of
Ecopressure (4th
TOFEC):
On The Lethal Charcteristic
The
Strangulation (strang) Theory
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An
excessive unabated and
uncontrolable ecopressure
will always turn destructive and
lethal in the end for that ecosystem.
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Proof:
As long as the skewed
ecological balance (skeb) is moderate and
not exceeding the "strength" of
RETOC, a tolerable
quasi steady skeb will exist.
However, if the ecopressure increases in
strength and overpowers RETOC, an oppressive
relationship begins to develop:
the ecological harshness
(ergoharsh).
Now, should the ergoharsh continues
unabated increasing in its
strenght, then such an increase
will reach the strangulation
phase --the ecological
strangulation (ecostrang).
Continuing on
that path of unabated ecostrang, that
self-destructive path will
reach, as in an avalanche, the tipping point
of no return (tiponor) after which the
stoppage of that
self-destructive process could
no longer be possible.
Now, we have entered
into the ecological dooming
(ecodoom) final phase
composed of the ecological
suffocation (ecosuff)
stage and the ultimate ecological
graveyard (ecograve).
In a nutshell,
the presented ecological
strangulation (ecostrang)
theory can be
encapsulated as follows:
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QED.
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 We have
examined in here the global
influence of how an ecosystem
is being affected by the ecopressure
from being beneficial
(when applied steadily and in moderation) to
becoming lethal
when in excess (through excessive eco-strangulation,
leading to the eco-suffocation
and ultimately to the eco-graveyard
stages). The demarcation line between the beneficial
and lethal zones is dictated
by the line of RETOC.
Thus, by 4th TOFEC,
when that ecopressure
becomes far more intense, we say that the
habitat experiences an ecological strangulation
(ecostrang).
In an ecostrang
habitat most, but not all*,
species will become extinct. We say now that
the said strangulated
species had undergone a mass strangulation
(masstrang) process.
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*Remark: The reason that
some of the species of an ecostrang habitat would be
able (marginally) to survive is
because those surviving
species (surspecs) did not
face a direct brunt of the lethal
ecopressure. As such, surspecs are the carriers
of the subsequent evolutionary
cycle (evocycle) for that strangulated habitat.
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Now continuing with our ecological
strangulation (ecostrang)
theory, we note of
the Preponderance Principle of
Causality (PPOC)
from where we now introduce
The Evolutionary Precedence
Principle Of Strangulation (EPPOS)
The
Evolutionary Precedence Over the Ad
Hoc Outer Environmental
Strangulation
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When a habitat
becomes ecopressed, the outer press will be
considered --as a cause-- only when
the inner press has been ruled out.
That is to say, that the inner press will always take
precedence over the outer press in the establishment
of a mass extinction (massex) cause.
A prime example of EPPOS is the case of Dinosaur (detailed below)
whose extinction was proved to be
self-induced (simex), caused by the inner rater than of a
speculative cosmic asteroid outer ecopress.
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Futuristic
Outlook
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It is
hoped that EPPOS will
cement the foundation
of the Rational
Evolutionary Biology
(REB) pioneered
by Charles
Darwin and
continued with the "punctuated
equilibria"
theory of Niles
Eldredge and Stephen
Jay Gould to
contrast with the
current Speculative
Evolutionary Biology
(SEB).
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From EPPOS, we
now introduce
The First Foundational
Theorem of Mass
Extinction (1st FOTH)
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In
all mass
extinctions (massexes), the dominant
species (domispec), that has
triggered the habitat to become
strangulated (ecostrang), will always
end up extinct.
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Proof for the
two (2) major eras: before
and after
(modern) human intervention.
 Case I: Animal
Intervention (The Dinosaur Case)
For
the Animal case, we have choosen
the most popular one, that of the
Dinosaur.
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Herbivorous
Dinosaurs
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Contrary to the
popular view, the Dinosaur alone,
and not an asteroid nor other
cataclysmic event, is responsible
for its own demise.
Indeed, how the
Dinosaur gradually had
triggerd a mass
extinction for the
terrestrial habitat (terrahab) was posted in
the previous page and encapsulated
anew here:
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Having
no (serious) predators
and being herbivore,
it quickly saturated
the terrahab with
its presence and
overwhelmed the
natural "green" world
that quickly become
exterminated.
 With no
food left and little
oxygen remaining, the
extinction of the
Dinosaur is a
foregoing ecological
conclusion
(ecolocon).
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 Not all
terrestrial animals were wiped out
by that terrestrial mass
extinction triggered by the
Dinosaur. Small nocturnal
creatures living in burrows were
able to survive because, by the
gravity, molecules of oxygen were
able to conglomerate sustaining
marginally the life there.
Those small
creatures must have had spines
covering them, so when moving
around in those burrows, they were
able to dislodge from the soil the
conglomerated oxygen needed for
their breathing. We will call such
a tiny primitive creatures with
spine, a spinetas. The spinetases resemble echidnas
or porcupines.
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The
aquatic habitat (aquahab) was
not much affected by
the terrestrial mass
extinction and, as
such, most of the
maritime creatures,
including the crocodile,
amphibians and other
land creatures like lizards
(that can live
in-and-out water),
were able to survive
the Dinosaur's demise.
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Foundational
Corollary
On the Origin
of Birds: The
Gliding/Flying
Lizard
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Proof:
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The mass extinction triggered
by the Dinosaurs
has left a
massive trail
of destruction
and death. As
noted, the
most prominent
terrestrial
survivor was
the nocturnal
spinetas.
Another important survivor groups that were able to
escape the
dinosaur's
mass
extinction,
that depleted
the
terrestrial
landscape of
the oxygen (O2),
were the amphibians
and reptiles.
They were able
to survive
because of
their
connection to
the nearby
water (H2O)
that is rich
in oxygen.
Some lizards, from all reptiles, were able through
accidental
mutations, to
begin gliding
from one place
to another.
That gliding
ability was
pushing their
bodies to
gradually
transform
themselves for
becoming
better
gliders. And
that body
transformation
evolved into
two (2) major
directions:
the i)
interior
and the ii)
exterior.
i) The internal modification was
geared towards
transforming
their bodies
from cold
blooded
creatures to
warm blooded.
That
evolutionary
transformation
was needed so
that they
could survive
the cold
weather during
the night. As
such, their
cardiovascular
system was
transformed.
Their heart
was modified,
acquiring
another
chamber: from
three (3) to
four (4)
chambers.
ii) The external modification was
geared towards
improving
their gliding
capability.
That
evolutionary
transformation
dictated their
bodies to
acquire a more
aerodynamic
shape and get
rid of the
unnecessary
features that
interfered
with the
gliding. As
such, they
dispensed of
their teeth
and added a
toothless
beak.
The primitive bird was born.
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Note: This Foundational Corollary is a
direct
refutation of
the current
prevailing
view that
considers the
origin of
birds not
reptilian, but
dinosaurian.
That
dinosaurian
hypothesis
emerged from
the belief
that a transitional fossil (tranfos) was found that established the
dinosaur at
the base of
the bird
evolutionary
tree.
But,
that
conclusion is
false contradicting the landmark result of how evolution occurs in the first place:
 Evolution (aka POPvolution) always occurs in saltation or
jumps.
From there, it was recognized in The Principle of Popvolution that
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no transitional fossils (tranfoses) can exist between a
base species
(baspec) and an emerging new species (newspec).
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As such,
the discovered
Archaeopteryx fossil is NOT a transitional fossil of anything!
There
are NO transitional fossils (tranfos) to be found anywhere, ever! The
tranfoses are in fact, as noted, the primospecs.
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At best, as such, that Archaeopteryx is a primospec
fossil, as recognized in 1868 by Thomas Henry Huxley, of a "very dinosaur-like bird " whose lineage
eventually
become extinct
due to the mass
extinction triggered by the dinosaur.
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The
lineage of the
modern birds started, as such, anew with the demise of the Archaeopteryx
lineage, and
that new bird lineage started, as proved above, with the Flying Lizard.
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 Case II: Human
Made Intervention
The
human species has become the most
dominant species on the planet on
all existing habitats far
exceeding thus the past dominance
of the Dinosaur that had only
terrestrial dominance.
 This human
dominance, as in the case of the
Dinosaur, began depleting the
Earth's natural resources on one
hand, and began destroying the terrashield, on the other
hand. That relentless dual assault
on Earth's land and air, on one
hand, with the massive population
increase, on the other hand,
created the necessary and
sufficient condition for the
self-strangulation process to
commence. Famine, abrupt climate
change, abrupt deterioration of
the quality of the air that we
bread --are sign that, as in an
avalanche, that the masstrang has began. Time
is ticking now for the inevitable
end. We are about to reach the tipping
point of no return (tiponor).
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The
existing Asteroid Belt
in our Solar System,
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The humans, as oppose to the
Dinosaur, have the capability of accelerating
or decelerating (but not
eliminating) their self-induced
"strangulation."
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An
snapshot on
the systematic
and vast
forest loss
linked to
cattle farming
in Brazil as
reported by The Guardian.
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 The acceleration
could come by
ignoring the visible
sign of the
"strangulation," by
the massive
deforestation
currently in place,
or by using (as an
act of exasperation,
madness, or
accidental) the
lethal powerful
explosive weapons
that we have,
capable not only to
wipe out the entire
human species, but
also capable of
blowing up the
entire Earth
transforming it into
another asteroid
belt in our
Solar System.
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An
asteroid belt
fragment that
could be
imagined as
being the
remnant of
Earth after
being
blown-up.
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 The
deceleration
could come by making
a concerted effort
of protecting and
repairing the terrashield,
i.e., by putting a
stop of the
depletion of the Ozone
layer and, by
recognizing the
importance of
curbing the global
warming. To this, we
need to add the
creation of a
massive global
Forestation
initiative (Forin)
that will be able to
increase
substantially the
natural Oxygen
production.
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A
market in Mumbai,
India. With a
population of over
1.4 billion,
India is set to pass
China in population.
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The
ultimate reason that, in the end,
the human species will perish is
because, it has created and
continue to create, as in the case
of Dinosaur, an overpopulation
that can no longer be able to be
sustained. It is indeed the hope
that the inevitable end will come
later than sooner.
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Moving
on, we introduce now
The Second Foundational
Theorem of Mass
Extinction (2nd FOTH)
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The
self-induced
mass extinction (simex), in the Cycle of Life (Cycol),
acts as a turning
evolutionary point (tep).
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Proof:
The surspecs will change the
direction of evolution with the
disappearance of domispec that triggered
the mass extinction (massex).
That change of direction in
evolution (codev) would
created new evolutionary
oportunities that were barred by
the existence of domispec. Thus, each massex is being reduced
to a turning evolutionary
point (TEP) that signals, in
turn, the starting of a new evocycle.
PS>
By EPOL, simex can be expanded
regardless how a massex will originate,
as the same "punctuated" codev with its TEPs will emerge, as
long as Earth, as a planet, will
preserve its integrity.
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Preview of the Current
Human Self-Induced
Extinction (SINEX)
(Paralleled with the
Dinosaur’s simex)
 The human
species has evolved as the most dominant and
evolved species from the entire history of biological
evolution (biolev). That dominance
triggered a dramatic increase in population.
That, as in the case of Dinosaur, triggered
a dramatic increase in the natural
terrestrial consumption of Earth's natural
resources that become in danger of depletion
by not being able to be replenished in time.
 However,
the human species, unlike the Dinosaur, did
not stop there from the terrestrial
consumption. We humans started devouring the
underground, as well. For combustion, we
humans become ravaging the underground fossil
fuels (fofuls) vested in coal and
petrolium with the accompanying flammable
natural gas. When burned, fofus
happened to release into the atmosphere
the Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
that is not only a toxic ingredient to life,
but also is a heat entrapper in Earth's
"exhaling" mechanism!
 The
destruction, by the humans, of Earth's
natural ecological environment --the ecocide,
is now in full swing assuring, as such, for
SINEX
to continue, with little
resistence, the completion of its deadly
scenario.
 With
the growing demand for fofuls,
a Carbon Dioxide Blanket
(Cardiob) emerged that entraps the
heat dispersed from the surface of Earth.
That heat entrapment created a worming
effect on the planet that triggered a
substantial increase in rain storms and
other violent activity due the increased
trappings of the vapor molecules from oceans
reaching the Cardiob.
 A
massive climate change (clicha) with
violent atmospheric activity unable to
escape from Cardiob,
has began to dominate the new transformed
climate. Floods, increased rain activity,
violent hurricanes and typhoons, are now
part of this new evolving clicha.
In addition, with the temperature rise, the
ice-self melting of glaciers adding more
water to Earth's oceans puts the costal land
and cities around the globe in imminent
danger of disappearing...
Migration from inhospitable
regions due to increased inhabitable
temperature, of permanent floods, of sinking
cities, of shortage of food, are
unmistakable signs of the direction that
awaits us to see...
In
our biological study of Nature, we
recognized that a mass
extinction (massex)
will usher the way for a new hierarchical evolutionary
cycle (evocycle)
to commence. We noted that the surviving
species (surspecs)
of massex
will be the initiators of the new evocycle.
  We
call ultimon the ultimate
evolutionary species that was able to escape
and survive massex.
On the "shoulders" of ultimons,
the direction of evolution of new evocycle
will be rested. As such, ultimons
are indeed the turning
evolutionary points (TEPs)
in the grand tableau of biological
evolution (biolev).
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