Examples Of Artificial Selection

Sexual selection was an idea proposed by Darwin and refers to the process in which males and females attempt to maximize their chances of reproductive success. Within a species there are certain characteristics that make individuals attractive to potential mates. An example of this is in peacocks, female peacocks are attracted to males with long brightly colored tails, even though this makes them easier to be spotted by predators. This characteristic then evolves within the species due to how males with this characteristic have a higher chance of reproductive success and their characteristics being passed on to surviving offspring.

In this chapter of the selected text for the course they talk of the three things involved in adaptation. First and foremost, there has to be variation in the population, second, the variation has to come from genes changes, and the third is that the genetic variation must affect the probability of offspring.” Evolution by selection is a combination of randomness and lawfulness.”(Coyne 118). I also learned that the only difference between natural selection and artificial selection is that on one hand the changes occurring are being made to happen by a breeder (artificial) whereas the other is random selection due to environmental and survival changes

Artificial selection – a breeder that selects desired traits for a species and then breeds that species to have those traits.

In 1883, Francis Galton coined the word eugenics composed of the two Greek words “well” and “born” (Galton 1883, p.138) to represent his studies on heredity and evolution. This idea was sparked after Charles Darwin published his theory of Natural Selection in 1859. Though his theory of Natural Selection was fascinating, what intrigued researchers and scientist the most was how Darwin explained Artificial

Many people are familiar with the words natural selection, an idea that was popularized by Darwin in the 19th century; to simply define it, natural selection is nature’s editing mechanism that results in the favoring of some individuals over others when exposed to certain environmental factors. Artificial selection parallels the process of natural selection but with an added twist: the involvement of human beings. Artificial selection is “a process in which humans consciously select for or against particular features in organisms” allowing “only organisms with the desired feature to reproduce or may provide more resources to the organisms with the desired feature” (Artificial Selection, n.d.).

Natural sources of variation include: mutations, gene flow, and genetic shuffling. Mutations are random changes in DNA that result in beneficial, harmful, or no changes in an organism. Gene flow can also be referred to as migration. It is the exchange of genes of individuals from one population to another. Genetic shuffling occurs in meiosis when alleles switch to create new combinations of genes. The steps of natural selection are overproduction, variation, competition, and selection. Overproduction is important because it keeps the species from becoming extinct and allows for more variation in offspring. Variation is what can either help the organism have a higher chance of surviving or could lower the chance of surviving.

Albeit, the sexual selection theory is presumed force of natural selection causing individuals to develop reproductive strategies which maximize the like hood of their producing the fittest possible offspring. Otherwise, suggested a competition between males and competition for females as the two most likely mechanism of sexual selection theory.

Evolutionary biology has always interested me, specifically the mechanisms of natural selection and how species adapt to their environment. It started with my love for animals and nature when I was little. I spent my summers working with horses at a local corral, where I would ride around the surrounding wilderness areas. My favorite part about riding in the mountains was watching the change in plant and animal species as the elevation changed. It never ceased to amaze me how the alpine tree line was always so sudden. Humongous pine trees would give way to the short, shrubby plants of the alpine tundra so uniformly and noticeably. I have always wondered about the environmental conditions that cause species to distribute themselves in

To begin, natural selection and artificial selection are drastically different. Natural selection is the process by which varied traits that increase survival and enable reproduction are passed down from one generation to another generation. Natural selection is where all species have some sort of involvement with the environment that they live in. An example of this would be in a habitat where there are red bugs and green bugs. In the article “Natural Selection

Natural selection is when certain phenotypes are being favoured in a given environment over others (Reece, 2014). Depending on the environment, some organisms will survive longer and reproduce more successfully compared to other individuals. An example of this would be the two different phenotypes of goldy (orange and golden phenotype) reproducing in a yellow/golden coral (Reece, 2014). Here we have these fish scattered around certain patches in coral reefs where these coral reef fish reproduce. These fish on all patches in the area will come together and release their gametes into the water at the same time causing the eggs/sperm to float to the surface (Reece, 2014). However, this process is then interrupted because the “line fish” starts

Sexual selection is defined as “a form of natural selection in which, according to Darwin’s theory, the mate or female is attracted by certain characteristics, form, color, behavior, etc., in the opposite sex, thus modifications of a special nature are brought about in the species” (“Sexual Selection”). Sexual

Selective breeding is evolution by human selection. You take two animals with good genes and breed them to achieve a desired phenotypic or genotypic result. The result should end up with the offspring having equally good genetics with its parents or better genetics. It is a carefully planned selection oriented toward a decided standard. This needs great care in selecting animals with specific qualities. Selective breeding, as an example the Belgian blue cow is breeding a trait by human choice. The cow was created by breeding the strongest cows together. “A true breeding policy was established in the early 20th century, when the breed was established. At one time the breed was divided into two strains, one primarily for milk production and the other a beef animal. Selection is now primarily for beef.” The Belgian Blue has been selectively bred for muscle. The cows that showed the characteristics of having muscle of the bunch were selected to breed.

Sexual selection can best be described by the definition given by Darwin himself. Sexual selection is “the advantage which certain individuals have over other individuals of the same species solely in respect of reproduction” (Hosken et al, 2011). Sexual selection occurs throughout the animal kingdom, where male frogs dominate through the depth of their croak, and certain peacocks reign superior based on the colour and intricate detail on their tails. They remain superior to their lesser counterparts as they bear more admirable characteristics, from which they are chosen by females of the same species.

Artificial selection and natural selection are different forms of the same practice that Charles Darwin observed. Artificial selection is when man controls the breeding for a specific trait just like genetic engineering where scientists alter and clone genes to produce a new trait in an organism. At the same time, natural selection is based on environmental conditions. Natural selection is Darwin’s famous theory stating evolutionary changes that occur through the production of variation in each generation. Organisms that are best suited to their environment

If these traits that it possesses that made it different were useful than that creature may reproduce more than normal. Of course in Darwin’s day DNA had not been discovered but it was known that traits were passed to offspring. Natural selection is when the organisms with good traits survive the trials of nature. Artificial selection is what breeders do, the cow that gives more milk, or the plant that produces larger fruit are selected to be reproduced. Encyclopedia Encarta defines natural selection as “the process by which environmental effects lead to varying degrees of reproductive success among individuals of a population of organisms with different hereditary characters, or traits. The characters that inhibit reproductive success decrease in frequency from generation to generation. The resulting increase in the proportion of reproductively successful individuals usually enhances the adaptation of the population to its environment”