ABSTRACTS
A Study of Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) Migration and Its Establishment
Eugene F. Chaffin
The fact that the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) migrates from Canada to central Mexico is a well-known fact. Here, the migration of the Eastern and Western populations of monarchs is described. This article will not be a field study but an attempt to synthesize a theory of how this migration could originate in a young-Earth context, given that butterflies were created essentially as seen today or will be assumed to have originated this way. The Uvarov Phase Theory is discussed as it applies to desert locusts and its possible relation to the unique migratory generation of monarchs, that is, the larger size of the Fall migratory individuals, and the importance of diapause. The establishment of this interesting migratory pattern is discussed in terms of geography and topography and related to the unique flight abilities of these butterflies.
Simulation of the Pearson Method and the Spearman Method Coefficients in Morphology-Based Baraminological Research
Harry F. Sanders, III
Statistical baraminology has been a common research topic in creation biology for the last several decades. Several statistical methods have been employed but none have been tested against simulated data where the result is known. Therefore, both the original Pearson method and newly deployed Spearman method are tested in this paper against simulated data where the existing patterns were known. Multiple patterns of varying strengths were tested. In every case, the Pearson method outperformed the Spearman method. Based on these preliminary results, the Pearson method (aka the Pearson correlation coefficient) should be the preferred method of statistical baraminology. However, much more research is needed to ensure that baraminology is placed on a strong empirical foundation.
The North American Midcontinent and the Genesis Flood Part I: Mapping Surfaces
John K. Reed, Michael J. Oard, Peter Klevberg
Maps of diluvial boundaries for the North American midcontinent are presented by state and by sedimentary basin. The upper diluvial boundary is the base of Ice Age sediments. For most of the study area, the basal diluvial boundary is the erosional unconformity between Precambrian crystalline rock and the Phanerozoic sedimentary record. The exceptions are Proterozoic to Cambrian rifts: the Midcontinent, East Continent, Fort Wayne, Reelfoot, Rough Creek Graben, and Rome Trough rifts. These are remnants of severe crustal disruption at the onset of the Flood, with varying ratios of volcanic and sedimentary fill. This paper focuses on the basal marine diluvial boundary and the upper diluvial boundary, excluding the rifts, showing the volume and distribution of sediments of the Ice Age. Deep Proterozoic rifts will be addressed in Part II. Detailed state maps of the basal diluvial boundary are shown in the appendix. Maps of the study area reveal cratonic basins of varying size, show a thickening of diluvial strata toward the south, and show the extent of Ice Age deposition. All these aid in understanding the work of the Flood in this region.
The Horse Evolution Icon Exposed
Jerry Bergman
The “horse series” icon of evolution was one of the most commonly cited “proofs” of evolution for over 150 years (Janis, 2008, p. 251). Due to new research and newer discoveries, the popular horse series diagram used in many science textbooks to document straight-line (orthogenetic) horse evolution is now widely acknowledged as inaccurate. It is now recognized that the fossil record documents only that an enormous amount of morphological variety exists in horses, not their gradual evolution from a common ancestor (see Figure 1). Although gradual Darwinian evolution has been rejected, horse evolution has been revised in an attempt to document a scenario more similar to Gould’s Punctuated Equilibrium theory and/or Mayr’s saltation theory.
Sternberg’s Law Statistical Study of Surficial Gravels in North Central Montana— Part II: Analysis and Conclusions
Peter Klevberg
As was shown in Part I of this paper, a simple application of Sternberg’s Law of downstream fining does not accommodate all the data included in this study. The study area includes the low-relief Great Plains and the high relief of the Rocky Mountains, good overall terrain for application of Sternberg’s Law, but with some complications from isolated mountain ranges. Most of the study area exhibits evidence of glaciation, but diluvial planation surfaces are also present. Channelized flow, transport by ice, and sheet flow are all candidate processes for transport of gravel. Results from statistical analysis of 5,839 sieve analysis reports indicate a complex history for the surficial gravel deposits.