Natural Selection and Mechanisms of Evolution

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What is natural selection?

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Natural selection is the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. It is a key mechanism of evolution.

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What is the significance of the peppered moth example in natural selection?

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The peppered moth example illustrates natural selection, where light-colored moths were more visible against polluted trees, leading to their decline, while dark moths survived better.

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What is disruptive selection?

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Disruptive selection is a type of natural selection that favors extreme phenotypes over intermediate phenotypes, leading to two or more contrasting phenotypes in a population.

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What is genetic drift?

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Genetic drift is a random change in allele frequencies in a population, which can lead to significant changes over time, especially in small populations.

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What is speciation?

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Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species, often due to isolation and different selective pressures.

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What is biogeography?

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Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time, often influencing speciation.

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What is the role of mutations in evolution?

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Mutations are changes in DNA that can introduce new genetic variation into a population, providing raw material for natural selection.

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What is the difference between genetic flow and genetic drift?

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Genetic flow (gene flow) is the transfer of alleles between populations, while genetic drift is a random change in allele frequencies within a population.

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What is the theory of evolution by natural selection?

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The theory of evolution by natural selection, proposed by Charles Darwin, states that organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce.

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What is the concept of adaptation?

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Adaptation refers to the process by which a species becomes better suited to its environment through evolutionary changes.