Questions and Answers
What is the primary requirement for natural selection to occur in a population?
Diversity within a species
What type of environmental condition can exert selective pressure on a population?
Abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) environmental conditions
Why is natural selection considered a situational process?
Because it does not anticipate change in the environment
How do traits that seem to have no apparent relevance to survival in one situation become beneficial in another situation?
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What is the ultimate result of natural selection acting on a population over many generations?
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What drives the change in characteristics of a population over many generations through natural selection?
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What is the role of selective pressure in natural selection?
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Study Notes
Natural Selection
- Natural selection is a process that occurs over many generations, where characteristics of a population change as organisms with heritable traits survive and reproduce, passing them to their offspring.
- Diversity within a species is a required condition for natural selection to occur.
- Abiotic environmental conditions can select for certain characteristics in some individuals and select against others.
- The environment exerts selective pressure on a population, which can result from biotic factors like predators, parasites, and competition for resources.
Selective Pressure and Adaptation
- Selective pressure is situational and does not anticipate environmental changes.
- A trait that seems irrelevant to survival in one situation may become beneficial in another, helping certain individuals survive and reproduce.
- The alleles for the beneficial trait are inherited by offspring, leading to an increase in individuals with the desired trait over many generations.
- This process forms a population that is better adapted to its environment.
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Description
Explore the concept of natural selection, a gradual process that shapes species over generations through environmental pressures and heritable traits. Learn how diversity within a species enables this process to occur.
