What is the theory of natural selection?
The theory of natural selection was explored by 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin. Natural selection explains how genetic traits of a species may change over time. This may lead to speciation, the formation of a distinct new species. Select from these resources to teach your classroom about this subfield of evolutionary biology.
How did Darwin contribute to the theory of natural selection?
Darwin also proposed the concept of population dynamics in the process of natural selection. Population dynamics refers to the idea that the growth of a population will eventually surpass the resources available in its habitat.
How do you calculate the consequences of natural selection?
The consequences of natural selection depend on the dominance of fitness: e.g., whether the “fit” phenotype is due to a dominant or recessive allele. Then, allele frequency change is predicted by the General Selection Equation: q = [pq] [(q)(W 2 – W 1) + (p)(W 1 – W 0)] /.
What is fitness in the mathematical theory of natural selection?
The Mathematical Theory of Natural Selection. Fitness is a phenotype of individual organisms. Fitness is determined genetically (at least in part). Fitness is related to success at survival AND reproduction. Fitness can be measured & quantified (see below). i.e., the relative fitness of genotypes can be assigned numerical values.
Is natural selection all-powerful?
Because natural selection can produce amazing adaptations, it’s tempting to think of it as an all-powerful force, urging organisms on, constantly pushing them in the direction of progress — but this is not what natural selection is like at all. First, natural selection is not all-powerful; it does not produce perfection.
Is natural selection a guiding hand or a process?
Second, it’s more accurate to think of natural selection as a process rather than as a guiding hand. Natural selection is the simple result of variation, differential reproduction, and heredity — it is mindless and mechanistic. It has no goals; it’s not striving to produce “progress” or a balanced ecosystem.
Why doesn’t natural selection try to evolve an organism?
The population or individual does not “want” or “try” to evolve, and natural selection cannot try to supply what an organism “needs.” Natural selection just selects among whatever variations exist in the population.