Comparative Psychology suggests that animals tend to change when placed in certain surroundings that may altar normal behaviors. This may be caused by climatic changes, population growth, or possibly even being exposed to new form of species that intermix. This has been the case for the evolution of whales over the centuries. Why is it that whales are so diverse in their genetic makeup?

Whales represent the most spectacularly successful invasion of oceans by a mammalian lineage," said Michael Alfaro, UCLA assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and senior author of the new study, which was published this month in the early online edition of Proceedings of the Royal Society B and will appear at a later date in the journal's print edition. "They are often at the top of the food chain and are major players in whatever ecosystem they are in. They are the biggest animals that have ever lived.

Check out the entire story at Science Daily regarding "How Whales Have Changed Over 35 Million Years"

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