Creationism(Pro) vs Evolution (Con)

I affirm that evolution provides a more plausible explanation for the variety of species we see today than does creationism because:1. genetic characteristics that allow an organism to live long enough to reproduce are more likely to be passed on than genetic characteristics that don't allow an organism to live long enough to reproduce.http://evolution.berkeley.edu...2. polyploidy is the process by which mutations increase the amount of functional genetic information.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...3. human chromosome 2 is a fusion of two ape chromosomes, which is definitive evidence that humans descended from apes.http://genome.cshlp.org...4. homologous structures between organisms indicate taxonomic classification without using the indiscriminate term "kind."http://evolution.berkeley.edu...5. speciation by way of natural selection is a fact, and Pro concedes this point.http://www.debate.org...1. What's evolution?Parents pass on their genes to their offspring, but organisms that don't make it long enough to reproduce or can't reproduce never become parents, and their genes do not get passed on.The characteristics that lead to more reproductive success and survival begin to genetically dominate, because a major part of genetically dominating is being alive and reproducing.So, as environmental constraints dictate, different genetic characteristics become more or less helpful in living long enough and having the ability and opportunity to reproduce.As the earth's environmental constraints change, so do its inhabitants.http://evolution.berkeley.edu...2. What is polyploidy?So, think back to biology class when they mentioned that humans have 23 chromosomes from each parent.This means that we have a total of 46 chromosomes. We, like most animals are diploid, because we have TWO sets of chromosomes, one from mom, and one from dad.Anytime you have an organism with MORE than one set from each parent, these organisms are called polyploids.Beyond the two normal sets, an organism can have three (triploid), four (tetraploid), five (pentaploid), or all the way up to even 12 sets.https://en.wikipedia.org...Polyploidy happens when there is a mutation DURING THE REPLICATION process, such that more gene sets are copied. That is to say, from the parents'genetic information, mutations can occur that INCREASE the gene sets in the offspring; this is the fact of polyploidy.This increase in DNA is functional, it explains great genetic divergence in one generation, and happens in bacteria, plants (most common), and animals; new functional DNA is a fact of polyploidy.a. polyploidy in bacteriahttp://m.pnas.org...b. polyploidy in plantshttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...c. polyploidy in animalshttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...3. What is Human chromosome 2?Human chromosome 2 is a fusion of two ancestral ape chromosomes.Humans have 46 chromosomes, while the other great apes have 48 chromosomes.Chromosomes, made of two identical chromatids, carry our genes, and give us all of our genetic, molecular, cellular, and skeletal structures. A typical chromatid, one identical part of the chromosome, has two ends and a center. The two ends are Telomeres (T).The center is a Centromere (C).T-C-T However, the chromatids on human's 2nd chromosome each have four ends and two centers.T-C-T-T-C-T This shows fusion.Since the telomeres are fused in the middle, we call this a telomere-telomere, or end to end fusion.http://genome.cshlp.org...How do we know what fused?Base pairs on the ends of each chromosome are unique to that chromosome; if you find these unique base pairs, you then know which chromosome you have, similar to how a fingerprint identifies a human.We found the base pairs that match ancestral ape chromosomes on our 2nd chromosome.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...So, when you look at our 2nd chromosome, you see that our genetics have uniquely identifying remnants from our ape ancestors; we're genetically made from two fused ape chromosomes.4. How do we classify animals?In biology, we classify animals based on their evolutionary history and common ancestry.So, most creationists ask, "How do you know their common ancestry?"The answer is homologous anatomic structures...inherited structures that are similar between organisms.http://evolution.berkeley.edu...The best examples of this are the four-legged vertebrates."The ancestor of tetrapods evolved four limbs, and its descendents have inherited that feature — so the presence of four limbs is a homology."http://evolution.berkeley.edu...So based on homology, we can classify organisms; genetics confirm homology as well.While I admit, we currently use a more updated version than the classic taxonomic rank system, these names are still used in most phylogenetic classification; notice there is no term "kind." https://en.wikipedia.org...Could Pro, explain what "kind" means in terms of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, or domain?Or if Pro likes, Pro could choose a color that best fits the idea of "kind."Then if Pro feels like it, could Pro explain how "kind" fits into that particular taxonomic rank?5. Speciation by way of natural selection is a fact, and Pro agrees.From the 2nd round, Pro clearly states:"I believe my opponent and I can agree that natural selection occurs and can create new species."http://www.debate.org...My response:Yes, I agree, and this seems like a concession to me, because this is the MOST crucial mechanism by which evolution occurs; I was going to provide evidence for speciation, but since Pro has conceded, I need not.I must stress that this is a very crucial concession from Pro, and it should heavily be considered when voting; speciation points to evolution being very plausible.