Artificial Selection

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Artificial Selection Noun

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[ar-tuh-fish-uhl suh-lek-shn]

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Artificial Selection

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The process where humans identify and select desirable traits in organisms to enhance them in future generations.

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Example: Humans selectively bred a single wild plant (Brassica) for specific traits, resulting in different vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale.

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Selective Breeding Noun

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[suh-lek-tiv bree-ding]

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Selective Breeding

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A form of artificial selection where humans choose parent organisms with desired characteristics to produce offspring with those traits.

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Example: This diagram shows that by choosing organisms with a desired trait (more spots) to reproduce, that trait becomes more common in later generations.

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Trait Noun

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[trayt]

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Trait

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A specific, heritable characteristic of an organism that can be passed down to its offspring through genes.

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Example: This diagram shows that a trait, like eye color, is a visible characteristic determined by underlying biology, such as the amount of pigment in cells.

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Natural Selection Noun

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[nach-er-uhl suh-lek-shn]

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Natural Selection

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The natural process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive, reproduce, and pass on their genes.

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Example: A paintbrush acts as a human selector, choosing specific moths from a varied population, illustrating the core mechanism of artificial selection.

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Crossbreeding Noun

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[kraws-bree-ding]

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Crossbreeding

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The process of mating organisms from different breeds, varieties, or species to combine their traits in the offspring.

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Example: Mating two different parent breeds, like Breed A and Breed B, produces an offspring that is a mix of both, called a crossbreed.

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Hybridization Noun

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[hai-brid-uh-zey-shn]

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Hybridization

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A method of artificial selection involving crossbreeding different species or varieties to create offspring with desired parental traits.

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Example: This image incorrectly shows chemical hybridization, the mixing of atomic orbitals, which is unrelated to the biological hybridization (cross-breeding) used in artificial selection.

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Hybrid Noun

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[hai-brid]

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Hybrid

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The offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species, or genera.

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Example: This image does not explain a biological hybrid. It incorrectly shows 'Hybrid Learning,' a concept from education, which is unrelated to artificial selection in science.

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Domesticated Adjective

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[duh-mes-ti-key-tid]

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Domesticated

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An organism adapted over generations, through selective breeding, to live in close association with and benefit humans.

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Example: This image shows domesticated organisms like cows and sheep next to their wild relatives, like the African buffalo and bighorn sheep, illustrating domestication.

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Inbreeding Noun

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[in-bree-ding]

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Inbreeding

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The practice of breeding closely related individuals, which can reduce genetic diversity and increase harmful recessive gene expression.

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Example: This pedigree chart shows mating between closely related individuals (a brother and sister), which is called inbreeding, resulting in affected offspring (red squares).

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Genetic Diversity Noun

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[juh-net-ik di-vur-si-tee]

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Genetic Diversity

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The total number of different genetic characteristics and variations within a species or population's gene pool.

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Example: This image shows many different cattle breeds, which were developed by humans through artificial selection, demonstrating the wide genetic diversity within a single species.