Are The Examples That Darwin Uses In Chapter 4 And Explain The Process Of Natural Selection

1. Early on, Darwin states: “No one can say why the same peculiarity in different individuals of the same species, or in different species, is sometimes inherited and sometimes not; or why a child often reverts in certain characteristics to its grandfather or grandmother, or even to a more remote ancestor; or why a peculiarity is often transmitted from one sex to both sexes, or to one sex alone, more commonly but not exclusively (than) to a member of the same sex.” If you had the chance to explain this to Darwin, what would you say?

Eukaryotic organisms contain chromosomes, which contain alleles. Alleles are responsible for the phenotype (observable characteristic) that is expressed by the individual. Alleles can be dominant or recessive.
Pick an example that Darwin uses in chapter 4 and explain the process of natural selection. Include the relevant natural history of the organism (illustrate the components of selection) and distinguish between evidence for the process of natural selection and evolutionary change. Write this as if you are trying to explain evolution by natural selection to someone that “doesn’t believe in evolution”.

Darwin explains how different types of bees feed on different types of clovers as an example of the process of natural selection. Honeybees have shorter proboscis than bumblebees, and crimson clovers have shorter corollas than red clovers. Honeybees are able to consume the nectar out of crimson clovers with short corollas, but not out of red clovers with long corollas, while bumblebees mainly feed on red clovers with the longer corollas. The fertility of clovers is dependent on bees pollinating them. If bumblebees were to become rare or extinct in a certain region, and only honeybees were left, red clover fertility and fitness would decrease because honeybees are not able to pollinate clovers with longer corollas. The honeybees would only be able to access the red clovers that possess shorter corollas than average. Over time, natural selection will favor red clovers with shorter corollas because they are the only ones that the honeybees can pollinate. These clovers would have higher fertility and fitness rates, leading to an evolutionary change of decrease in corolla length
He considered instinct to be more complex because it is so difficult to accurately define instinct, how the diversities of instinct arose, and how natural selection has most likely led to the behaviors that we see today. “Natura non facit saltum” directly translates to “nature does not make any jumps”. This means that nature changes and progresses gradually over time. Darwin states that “complex instincts can only be produced through natural selection – the slow and gradual accumulation of many slight, yet beneficial variations” (Darwin 225). This is shown in the example of the hive bee. While the hives of bumblebees, honeybees, and other bees vary slightly, they all use very complex and similar building strategies. The cells of each honeycomb are constructed to be sturdy, save space and energy, and save on material necessary for construction. The swarms of bees that are able to construct the best cells, using the least amount of energy and wasting the least amount of wax will succeed the best. They will then transmit these instincts through inheritance to offspring, leading to the next generation that have the best chance of survival. “Thus, it seems that the most wonderful of all known instincts – that of the honeybee – can be explained by natural selection having taken advantage of many