Submitted by: Submitted by 1234qwer
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Category: Science and Technology
Date Submitted: 11/06/2011 02:40 PM
Natural Selection Scenario Essay
Evolution by natural selection can be more complicated than it truly is, especially with scientists and biology students’ using big words to explain the steps involved. When looking at the example with the euphorbs, we can describe evolution by natural selection in four easy steps – variation, different reproduction, high rate of population growth and differential survival and reproduction. Along with those steps, mutation (changes in the genomic sequence) genetic variation (variations of genomes between members of species) fitness (equal to the average contribution to the gene pool of the next generation that is made by an average individual of the specified genotype or phenotyp) and adaptation (a population becomes better suited for its habitat) are involved in the process of evolution. The euphorb has seeds that are hard, spiny, and large, and average five mm in diameter while the ancestors of these plants had seeds that were soft, smooth, and only two mm in diameter (pretty much the exact opposite). The question here is how could this change have occurred from natural selection? The first of the four step process is variation – Each organism within the population exhibited individual variation in appearance and behavior (traits). This variation could be a seed that is hard or one that is spiny or large, maybe three mm in diameter, these traits can be formed from mutation from the parent genes to the offspring. Since the environment cannot support unlimited population growth, not every individual gets to reproduce. In this case since the few seeds that aren’t eaten easily by the finches, they have a better chance to reproduce. From here differential reproductive success occurs (When one group has more viable offspring than another) and the soft, smooth, and two mm diameter seeds start to die since there were more mutated traits left for reproduction. The more advantageous trait, hard, spiny, large, and five mm in diameter...