Genetic Variation And Natural Selection

Complete the worksheet writing 100- to 200-word short answers for each question. Format your references consistent with APA guidelines.

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

Evolution is the process of biological change by which descendants come to differ from their ancestors. Natural Selection is when an individual with the best trait survive and breed in more population. Larger populations of organisms with the desired traits will then occur and organisms will evolve. The four principles of Natural Selection are variation, over production, adaptation, and descent with modification. Charles Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist saw two major trends within organisms which were variation and adaptation. Variations are differences in individuals’ physical traits compared to other individuals. In the Galapagos Islands Darwin noticed that finches had different beak sizes and shapes. Darwin then concluded that finches with thicker beaks lived in areas where nuts were the main food source and finches with smaller beaks tended to live in areas where insects were the main food source. Adaptation are features that allow an organism to better survive in their environment. There has been many adaptations in animals but one of the best has been living in groups because animals can then “help each other find food, defend against predators and care for their young” (animalpanet, n.d.). Overproduction is when organisms produce more offspring than the environment can support. Darwin stated that all animals over produce since offspring can reach reproduction age and have offspring of their own. For example, “even a slow breeder

The hypothesis is that if more mutation that leads to variation in the population of beetles is an advantage then the resulting offspring would carry on the favorable genes, causing increase in the population’s fitness and survival rate.

This question ties with what was mentioned earlier that nature does not identify problems or feautures that make oranisms succesfful but instead natural selection responds to phenotypic variation in a population. Artificial selection doesnt have a direct natural correlation to the phenotypic variation but instead its based on what humans decide to consume/buy etc, doesnt necessarily have to be the best thing for them.

Natural selection is the outcome of inheritance, variance, and differential reproduction and can operate at many if not all levels of the taxonomic hierarchy (Bergstrom & Dugatkin, 2012). If the level meets the requirements of natural selection, it may be acted upon. Natural selection can vary in the force of selection between each level in the hierarchy and depends highly on the amount of units within the level. The higher the taxonomic level the less units, less variation and multiplication that is found. The levels in which natural selection operates and the strength of its force will be discussed moving down the hierarchy of genes, cells, individuals, populations composed of closely related kin, and groups of distantly related

Heterozygosity is the measure of the genetic variation in a population at a particular gene locus. Genetic variation within a population is important in maintaining or increasing the fitness of members in the population and ultimately the survival of the species.

The four common forces of evolution are: mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow. Evolution transpires when one or more of instances occur. Mutations are a random hereditary change of DNA capable of passing from the parent to the off spring within each person’s own DNA. Natural mutations occur when cells are copied and begin to divide. The Genetic drift is a random change in allele frequency from one generation to the next and will have a greater impact in smaller populations. However, the genetic flow is a separated population of species that come in contact and will begin to breed and exchange DNA but also works to decrease the variations between the two different kind’s species. Natural selection is the process that

The purpose of this study was to understand the process of natural selection through a simulation involving competition of various preys and predators. In order to simulate natural selection, experimenters became predators and acted as a species of fork, spoon, knife, or fingers. Beans of four different phenotypes (white, green, black, and red) represented the prey. The predators hunted prey for 30 seconds three times—symbolizing three generations. The prey and predator survivors were doubled each generation to simulate reproduction. This experiment was done in an asphalt and sand environment. All data was recorded. The black bean was also the

Evolution is how a species changes over time due to natural selection. There are many pieces of evidence proving evolution and that we all came from a common descendant. One piece of evidence of evolution is fossil records. Fossil records are remains of live fossilized in rocks, wood, bones, or frozen in ice or trapped in plant resin. Fossil records show evidence of evolution because some fossil recrods look reallt similar to some animals alive today, which means that they slighly evolved to survive in the new enviroments that mother nature introduced them.

The four forces of evolution are mutation, natural selection, gene flow, and genetic drift. Mutations occur when the DNA replication process makes an error, if the error is not fixed than the mutation will form. A lot of the mutations do not affect an individuals health, however, there are some that can cause damage. If the mutation makes the individual stronger or benefits them, then the mutation is capable of staying within the population through reproduction. Natural Selection is when a species adapts to its’ environment and thus is able to reproduce while the others who have not adaptive die out. Darwin calls this survival of the fittest, only the strong move on. Gene flow is the process of breeding with a different population that changes

The different steps of speciation are variation, isolation and natural selection. The different types of beaks on the bird came about from millions of years of evolution and natural selection. Variation within the two species included those with long thin beaks and those with thicker beaks. The theory of natural selection suggests that the two different species were split due to either geographical or climatic barriers. As natural selection took place the birds that were unable to eat or find their desired food soon died out and the superior bird or the bird selected for would breed and reproduce their offspring on the island. The birds selected against would move to a nearby island suited to their needs and produce offspring there. Throughout

Reproduction has been the ultimate goal of every living organism that has ever originated on the earth. Over the time organisms have evolved to become better acclimated to the environment they live in such that reproduction and survival requirements are met. Even so, not every organism born is viable or produce progeny that survive and not every progeny that survives lives long enough to reproduce again. Only those who are strong and successful in reproducing are selected to survive. The process of ‘Natural Selection’ functions as the key to maintain the balance of the environment. Similarly, genes also work towards the same motive, replication. All genes on the other hand follow the ‘Mendelian Inheritance theory’, which allows genes to segregate into only 50% of the offspring exhibit the genotypes of genes from both parents in a 1:1 ratio. However, every commonly accepted system has its offenders. Similarly, offenders of the ancient gene pathway, come in the form of selfish genetic elements who work around the system and use other ways to increase in abundance, most often at the cost of the host’s health. Surprisingly, these selfish elements are still among the successful survivors though they do not follow the rules. One curious case of such an element is the segregation distorter gene found in all populations of a species of fly known as Drosophila melanogaster. The intention of this paper is to review a few researches conducted to give you an insight of this

Natural selection leads to evolutionary change when individuals with certain characteristics have a greater survival or reproductive rate than other individuals in a population and pass on these inheritable genetic characteristics to their offspring. The gene pool increases when a mutation changes an allele so there is a new version of the gene and the mutation survives to establish in the gene pool either by genetic drift or positive selection. The gene pool decreases when an allele is eliminated from the gene pool by genetic drift or by negative selection reducing the productive success of those expressing the phenotype. In changing in the gene pool the possible combinations of phenotypic traits change and the population evolves.

The four forces of evolution include: mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and natural selection. A mutation comes to a certain organism from an ancestor far down the line usually. It is a change in one’s gene or chromosome that causes the organism to have a unique physical characteristic. Gene Flow is when separate populations of a specific organism meet and reproduce after never having met before. This causes the unique characteristics of each population to not be so unique anymore. Genetic drift is the idea that certain organisms in a population will be more successful with leaving behind their genes than other organisms in the same population with different genes. Therefore, in the future there will be more organisms with characteristics