Evolution and Biodiversity

Apuntes

Evolution and Biodiversity Evolution Definition: Evolution is the change in heritable characteristics of a population over time. Mechanisms of Evolution: Natural Selection: The process where beneficial heritable variations are passed on more frequently due to environmental pressures, increasing their frequency over generations. Artificial Selection: Humans select and breed organisms with desired traits, leading to populations that significantly diverge from their original form. Types of Evolution: Divergent Evolution: Organisms sharing a common ancestor accumulate differences over time due to different selective pressures, eventually becoming different species. Convergent Evolution: Different species independently evolve similar traits or behaviors in response to similar environmental selection pressures. Natural Selection Definition: The mechanism of evolution in which, via different environmental pressures or changes, heritable variations that benefit an individual's survival and reproduction are passed onto offspring more frequently than those variations that do not benefit an individual, so that, over generations, the frequency of the beneficial variation increases. Selectiv...