Charles Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection is the process by which biological traits become either more or less regular in a species and is a key component of evolution. Natural Selection occurs when a subject has a feature that enables to be able to survive more easily than those without it. Take for example the Galapagos Finches (Darwin’s Finches). Found on the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean are a group of about 13 types of finches…
English naturalist, Charles Darwin, believed the finches he collected and observed on the Galapagos Islands shared a common ancestor because he found they all greatly resembled a bird located on the Ecuadorian coast off South America. When Darwin initially began his journey on the Beagle, he was biased toward the widely accepted idea that every living thing on Earth was a divine creation, which remained unchanging and existing as it was originally created. However, when Darwin arrived on the Galapagos Island he began to see a flaw in this theory. Examining and collecting the islands animal population closely and carefully he began to see uncanny similarities between the animals upon the island and the animals on the South America mainland. For example, Darwin discovered that the fossils of extinct armadillos and the currently living armadillo population on the island had many of the same features, though the current population of armadillos had certain characteristic that helped it survive in the islands environment. Using this, the finches and other animal specimens, he was struck by the idea that this animals must have migrated long ago from South America to the island, giving rise to a new and thriving animal population.…
Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs, are organisms that have been created through the gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology Although GMOs have been around for many years, it wasn’t until just recently that people have become more concerned with them. However, many companies that produce genetically modified organisms, like Monsanto, try to make believe that the products they produce are healthy and beneficial for the environment; while that may be true first glance, lots of anti gmo activists believe that these companies scam people into believing false information. In this essay, we will uncover the pros and cons of these genetically modified organisms and ultimately, come to the conclusion that GMOs may have downfalls for humans and the environment, but are economically beneficial.…
Once upon a time, God created a simulation video game based on evolution. It was a video game that gave the player (in this case God himself) many different ways on how to change the environment, along with other factors too. There were a type of species from the game’s selection of other species called Barbellus- which had an antennae and a fish tail. God decided to create a large number of these creatures that lived in the ocean of the video game. However, in this species’ early stages, both populations were simply known as Barbellus Primordius.…
The well known ecologist Charles Darwin exhibited the hypothesis of natural selection. He went on numerous trips to the wildlife, taking after his interest of the nature and the change that happens in the nature. After examining different kinds of living organisms, he clarified Natural Selection as "preservation of favorable variations and the rejecting of injurious variations."(900). Darwin utilized relations and demonstrations to show that distinctive changes happened in the same specie, which assisted them with adapting to their environment.…
Darwin’s theory of natural selection is not supported by the geological or fossil record, since there have been little to no remains of intermediate species found in fossils. Darwin explains this by using the imperfection of the geological record, as changes in land over time means that species will often not be preserved in a way that can be studied by scientists. He also references Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology, which states that the earth’s surface is constantly changing, as evidenced by the degradation and deposition of landmasses. These changes happen slowly, over hundreds of millions of years, implying that life has been present of a long time, and the number of fossils found is a miniscule amount compared to all the living things…
Selective breeding in dogs. Also known as artificial selection, is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to develop particular traits on the animals such as how they look or to produce certain exaggerated traits. There are many different types of traits that make reason for selective breeding, mainly physical, and only some for good emotional and disease blocking purposes. In a lot of ways, this is similar to inbreeding in humans. Selective Breeding a bad thing because of the treacherous things that can happen because of it, the funding of something that produces less good than there ever will be, selective breeding.…
1. “I like the rain. Some people will tell you that the sun is the best, but they are wrong. What waits for you in the sun? Skin cancer. What waits for you in the rain? Puddles to jump in. I’ll take puddles over cancer any day.” Tell me as much as you can about this passage as an argument (especially the parts).…
Alfred Russel Wallace is known to have advocate the the theory of intelligent evolution and co-discover natural selection alongside Charles Dawin. This theory suggests that evolution is purely built for utility and only occurs when changes are necessary for survival and purposeful. Wallace writes a letter to Darwin stating his theory, and clearly impacts him to write “Origin of Species”. Wallace becomes a spiritualist in 1860 and began to believe in theology. Wallace’s new beliefs lead him to reject scientific explanations of human intelligence and instead believe that teleology was the cause of evolution.…
By definition, natural selection theory is whereby the organisms that have adapted well to the environment can survive even during the times of scarcity and have offspring. The theory involves both competition and cooperation. According to Darwin, competition and cooperation are related to power such that, in life competition will always be there where people and animals must strive for the scarce resources (Darwin 29). During the competition, the strong ones will win and take the power. Cooperation is a key factor during competition. Only those who tend to cooperate with their members have high chances of winning. Also, the interrelationship between cooperation and competition can give rise to power where those who…
Charles Darwin after studying the beaks, concluded that each shape seemed to serve a purpose suited to the particular island (Lee 15). He concluded that finches who had short, fat beaks mostly ate nuts and on islands where the main food source is insects the finches had long, skinny beaks (Lee 15). Based on this evidence Darwin developed a theory that at some point in the past, one type of finch arrived at the islands and then evolved differently on each island (Lee 15). This theory is called natural selection, which ensures that traits that promote survival will win the struggle for existence (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 43). This theory also states that any trait that lowers our chances of survival, such as those that cause life- threatening diseases, reduce the chances that we will produce offspring and pass traits to other generations (Akert, Aronson, Sommers, and Wilson 316). However, if traits are not passed on to different generations, there would be no mechanism through which traits could reappear in subsequent generations and therefore there will be no way for a species to…
Natural selection was a fundamental idea formed by Darwin that living things evolve gradually from generation to generation. Darwin argues that all living species come to historical process through a historical process involving random changes. Through natural selection living things have acquired to behave in ways that provide the promotion of survival and reproduction.…
The main source of genetic variation is meiosis. Within meiosis, fertilization occurs and creates variation. Within meiosis, although it is rare, mutations happen which can be also a source of variation. Gene flow, the movement of genes within multiple populations is another source of variation as well. Variation plays the role of making different traits in populations to lead to favorable and non-favorable traits to the environment which natural selection and selective pressure acts upon in the process of evolution. Variation is important…
Knowledge within a discipline develops according to the principles of natural selection.” How useful is this metaphor? KQ- To what extent does knowledge need to evolve in discipline to different areas of understanding? Thesis statement- knowledge is both provisional and contextual while natural selection is the key aspect of variation, selection and fitness.…
Natural selection, a process that has long been essential to survival, suggests that those who can adapt to environmental change will likely be able to more successfully survive, and hence procreate, over time. When considering the impact of natural selection in relation to our modern human race, we can argue that discoveries in science means we have many fewer actual “predators” of concern when it comes to survival. Access to food, regulation of our shelters, and medical advancements are but a handful of survival-related arenas over which mankind has taken control when it comes to environmental impact. Never the less, despite applications of scientific knowledge, the human species is currently still subject to natural selection in new ways.…