Environmental Science U1 Module 1 Natural Secession and Adaptation

Natural Selection and Adaptation

Natural Selection and Adaptation 1

Adaptation 2
Natural Selection 6
Evolution 9

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Adaptation
Adaptation is the adjustment or changes in the behavior, physiology or structure of an
organism to become more suited to its environment.
There are two ways in which adaptation can be interpreted:
The first is called acclimation which is a limited range of physical modifications
available to individual organisms. These changes are not permanent nor passed on to
offspring.
The second is when adaption occurs at the level of the population and is influenced by
the inheritance of specific genetic traits that allow organisms to live in certain
environments. Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace developed the theory of evolution to
explain this form of adaptation.
Organisms may show structural or physiological adaptations that help them to overcome
specific environmental harshness. e.g. in times of water shortages:
- Many terrestrial insects and birds conserve the water in their bodies by excreting
nitrogenous was such as uric acid, in a paste form rather than liquid.
- The west Indian Cascadura builds a chamber beneath the mud and hibernates when
rivers and waterways are dry then becomes active again whenever the water rises.

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Natural Selection
Natural selection is the process whereby organisms that have favorable characteristics
and are better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring
rather than those that dont.
Natural selection acts on pre-existing genetic diversity and selective pressures favors
advantageous genes.
those individuals with favorable genetic trails will survive and have more offspring survive
into the next generation.
Generally when organisms reproduce, females chose males with the best physical
characteristics such as height, muscles (strength), intense colors or patterns or tusk size.
These desirable features also imply that males are healthy and free from defects and
disease.
The next generation will therefore be superior to the previous one because the weaker
individuals either die due to lack of adaptation or get fewer chances to mate thus
reducing the chance of passing on inferior traits.

Key Observations Made By Darwin

All populations experience variation because organisms within the populations exhibit
individual variation in behavior and appearance.
There are some traits that are heritable and consistently passed on from parent to
offspring while some traits are highly influenced by environmental conditions and show
weak heritability.
Individuals which are deemed the fittest are best suited to the environmental conditions
and will survive and contribute more offspring to the next generation.
Individuals of the same species compete for the same resources since they have similar
needs and methods of obtaining said resources.
Competition leads to high mortality and displacement rates due to predation, diseases
and organisms dispersed into unfavorable environments.
Individuals best adapted to obtain resources survive competition, breed and pass
favorable genetic traits. This results in a population with individuals best suited to the
existing environmental conditions for finding food, mates, escaping predators and
resisting diseases.

Darwins Theory of Natural Selection

Darwin's general theory presumes that complex creatures evolve from more simplistic
ancestors naturally over time.
In a nutshell, as random genetic mutations occur within an organism's genetic code, the
beneficial mutations are preserved because they aid survival, this is what is known as
"natural selection."
These beneficial mutations are passed on to the next generation. Over time, beneficial
mutations accumulate and the result is an entirely different organism (not just a variation
of the original, but an entirely different creature).

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Role of Natural Selection in Evolution

Natural selection acts on pre-existing genetic diversity.
Selective pressures (due to limited resources or environmental conditions) favor
advantageous genes. This leads to survival of the fittest organisms which eventually
reproduce successfully.
The group of fittest organisms survive to reproduce successfully. There must be enough
survivors to form a breeding population.
Individuals with the favorable genetic traits also have more offspring surviving into the
next generation. These offspring then carry favorable genes which are available for
passing on to the next generation.

Role of Natural Selection in Adaptation

Over the long term, populations of survivors gradually adapt to new conditions.
Selective pressures eliminate all individuals that cannot tolerate the new conditions.
Overtime a new species will evolve.
There must be enough survivors to maintain a viable breeding population.

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Evolution

Evolution is the process of natural selection in which unfit organisms are eliminated as a
result of selective pressures in that organisms environment.
It is a theory that life on Earth gradually developed from simple cells to more complex
organisms.
Over time living organisms have adapted to physical and chemical processes in their
environment to increase their potential for survival and reproduction.
Species that develop features that allow them to adopt to harsh environmental conditions
will usually adapt.
Evolution is a slow continuous process as the environmental and climatic conditions on
earth are constantly changing,

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An example of evolution is giraffes which have gradually evolved long necks because
members of the species with longer necks had better access to food supplies in the
upper levels of trees than their shorter neck counterparts.
As longer necked giraffes and their offspring survived more frequently, a long neck
became encoded in the genetic make up of the species.

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