Natural selection

Definition

Natural selection is a process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. This fundamental mechanism of evolution explains how certain traits become more common within a population over generations, influencing the development and evolution of species, including their developmental processes.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Natural selection acts on existing genetic variation within a population, favoring traits that improve survival and reproductive success.
2. It can lead to speciation, where new species arise as populations adapt to different environments or ecological niches over time.
3. The process of natural selection can be influenced by factors such as competition for resources, predation, disease, and environmental changes.
4. Developmental processes can evolve through natural selection, shaping how organisms grow and develop in response to their environments.
5. Natural selection operates over many generations, gradually transforming populations and contributing to the diversity of life forms we see today.

Review Questions

• How does natural selection contribute to the development of adaptations in organisms?
  • Natural selection drives the development of adaptations by favoring individuals with traits that enhance their survival and reproductive success in a given environment. Over time, these advantageous traits become more common in the population as those individuals survive and reproduce more effectively than others. This process illustrates how species can evolve and become better suited to their ecological niches.
• Discuss the role of genetic variation in the process of natural selection and its impact on evolutionary change.
  • Genetic variation provides the raw material for natural selection to act upon. Without differences in traits among individuals, there would be no basis for selecting which traits are beneficial. As environmental conditions change, genetic variation enables populations to adapt by allowing some individuals to survive and reproduce more successfully than others, leading to evolutionary change over generations.
• Evaluate the significance of natural selection in understanding the origin and evolution of developmental processes across different species.
  • Natural selection plays a critical role in shaping the origin and evolution of developmental processes by influencing how organisms grow, develop, and adapt throughout their lifetimes. By favoring certain developmental pathways that result in successful phenotypes, natural selection ensures that these traits are passed on to future generations. This ongoing interaction between natural selection and developmental biology helps explain the vast diversity of developmental strategies seen in different species, revealing insights into both evolutionary history and mechanisms of adaptation.

Related terms

adaptation: A trait that enhances an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment.

genetic variation: Differences in DNA among individuals within a population, which are essential for natural selection to occur.

fitness: The ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment, often measured by the number of offspring produced.