How Natural Selection Shapes Evolution: Understanding Allele Frequency Dynamics

Natural selection, the process favoring individuals with advantageous traits, directly impacts allele frequencies. By promoting the survival and reproduction of individuals carrying beneficial alleles, natural selection increases the frequency of those alleles within a population. Conversely, harmful alleles decrease in frequency as individuals carrying them face reduced fitness. This process drives evolutionary changes, altering the gene pool and reshaping phenotypic diversity to enhance the overall fitness of a population within its environment.

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Unveiling the Dance of Natural Selection: How Allele Frequencies Shape Genetic Landscapes

Imagine a vibrant dance floor, where each gene represents a dancer twirling to its unique rhythm. These genes come in different forms, known as alleles, and the relative abundance of each allele within a population determines its allele frequency. Like a symphony, the interplay of these alleles forms the genetic tapestry of a species.

The Enigma of Allele Frequencies

Allele frequencies are snapshots of the genetic diversity within a population, reflecting the presence of different variants of a specific gene. They provide insights into the evolutionary history, adaptation, and health of a species. Mutations, genetic drift, and gene flow act as master choreographers, subtly altering allele frequencies over time.

Natural Selection: The Maestro of Evolutionary Change

As the music of natural selection echoes through the dance floor, a transformative waltz unfolds. Individuals carrying advantageous alleles gain a competitive edge, swaying with grace and ease. Those with less favorable alleles find themselves struggling to keep up, their steps faltering. This selective pressure relentlessly molds the population’s genetic makeup, promoting the spread of beneficial traits that enhance survival and reproduction.

The Gene Pool: A Collective Inheritance

The gene pool serves as a collective genetic treasure chest, housing the entire repertoire of alleles present within a population. Mutations, like spontaneous leaps of inspiration, introduce new alleles into the mix. Gene flow, the intermingling of genetic material between populations, adds fresh rhythms to the dance. Genetic drift, the random fluctuation of allele frequencies, plays a particularly crucial role in shaping the genetic diversity of small populations.

Selective Pressure: The Sculptor of Phenotypic Diversity

As the music of natural selection intensifies, so does the selective pressure that shapes the survival and reproductive success of individuals. Phenotypes, the observable traits that result from gene expression, become the determining factors in fitness. Those with advantageous phenotypes, like elegant dancers with refined movements, thrive and pass on their genes, while those with less adaptive traits may face the somber reality of elimination.

Natural Selection’s Profound Influence on Allele Frequencies

Natural selection stands as a choreographer of grand proportions, orchestrating the changes in allele frequencies that drive evolutionary change. Alleles that enhance fitness rise in frequency, while those that hinder survival diminish. This relentless ballet shapes the genetic landscape of a population, fine-tuning its adaptation to its ever-changing environment.

By understanding the intimate relationship between natural selection and allele frequencies, we unveil the intricate workings of evolution. It highlights the dynamic nature of genetic diversity and its profound impact on the survival and prosperity of species.

How Natural Selection Shapes the Genetic Landscape: Unraveling the Power of Advantageous Traits

In the realm of biology, natural selection stands as a pivotal force, orchestrating the delicate balance of life on Earth. This enigmatic process unfolds in populations, where individuals with traits that enhance their survival and reproductive success are favored. Over time, these advantageous traits become more prevalent, shaping the genetic landscape and driving the course of evolution.

The Foundation of Genetic Variation: Unveiling Allele Frequencies

Genetic diversity is the cornerstone of evolution, and allele frequencies play a crucial role in understanding this variation. Alleles represent alternative forms of a gene, and their presence within a population determines the genetic makeup of that population. Factors such as mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow constantly influence these frequencies, creating a dynamic genetic landscape.

The Unfolding Story of Natural Selection: Favorable Traits Triumph

Individuals within a population possess a wide range of traits, and natural selection acts as the ultimate arbiter, determining which traits prevail. Those individuals exhibiting traits that increase their fitness—their ability to survive and reproduce—are more likely to pass on their genetic legacy.

Selective Pressure: The Guiding Force of Evolution

The environment exerts a profound selective pressure on populations. This pressure shapes the fitness of individuals, influencing their survival and reproductive rates. Traits that enhance an individual’s ability to navigate their environment confer an adaptive advantage, increasing their likelihood of success.

The Gene Pool: A Reservoir of Genetic Heritage

Within a population, the gene pool represents the total collection of genes. Mutation, gene flow, and genetic drift continually reshape this genetic reservoir. In small populations, genetic drift can have a significant impact on allele frequencies, leading to rapid fluctuations that can influence the population’s genetic trajectory.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies

Understanding Allele Frequencies and Natural Selection

Allele frequencies, like the rhythm of a dance, measure the presence of different forms of a gene in a population. Like dancers with varying steps, these different forms, called alleles, contribute to the genetic diversity of a population. Natural selection, the driving force of evolution, is like a choreographer, selecting traits that give individuals an edge in the dance of survival.

Allele Frequency: The Foundation of Genetic Variation

Factors like mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow influence allele frequencies, much like the winds that shape the dunes on a beach. Mutation creates new alleles, while genetic drift randomly alters allele frequencies, especially in small populations. Gene flow, the movement of alleles between populations, can also shift allele frequencies, like the exchange of steps between different dance troupes.

Natural Selection: Driving Evolutionary Change

Natural selection favors individuals with traits that enhance their fitness, like dancers with graceful moves and precise timing. Selective pressure, the environmental challenges that individuals face, influences which traits are advantageous. Like a demanding dance competition, selective pressure shapes the survival and reproduction of individuals, favoring those with the best-suited traits.

Gene Pool: The Collective Genetic Heritage

The gene pool is the treasure chest of a population’s genetic diversity, containing all the genes carried by its individuals. Mutation, gene flow, and genetic drift can alter the gene pool, like mixing and matching pieces of a mosaic. Genetic drift, in particular, can have a strong impact on allele frequencies in small populations, due to its random and unpredictable nature.

Selective Pressure: Shaping Phenotypic Diversity

Selective pressure exerts its influence on phenotype, the observable traits of individuals. Phenotype, like the costume and performance of a dancer, determines an individual’s fitness, its ability to survive and reproduce. Individuals with phenotypes that align with the selective pressures of their environment have an advantage, like dancers who move with grace and precision.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies

Natural selection directly alters allele frequencies by promoting the survival and reproduction of individuals with beneficial alleles. Like a dancer’s skill improving with practice, advantageous alleles increase in frequency over time. Conversely, harmful alleles, like clumsy steps, decrease in frequency. Over generations, natural selection molds the genetic makeup of a population, enriching it with alleles that enhance fitness within its environment, ensuring the continued survival and adaptation of the species.

How Natural Selection Shapes the Genetic Landscape: Allele Frequencies and Evolutionary Change

Imagine a vast tapestry woven with countless threads, each representing a gene. The patterns and colors of this tapestry are shaped by the allele frequencies, the relative presence of different forms of genes in a population. Understanding how allele frequencies fluctuate and evolve is crucial to unraveling the intricate dance of natural selection.

Seeking Equilibrium: The Hardy-Weinberg Principle

Under specific conditions, allele frequencies dance in harmony, maintaining a Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. In this harmonious state, allele frequencies remain constant from generation to generation, like a pendulum swinging steadily. This equilibrium is maintained by a delicate balance of forces, including the absence of mutation, random genetic drift, and gene flow.

Unveiling the Forces of Change

However, the tapestry of genetic variation is far from static. Evolutionary forces, like natural selection, act as the master weavers, altering allele frequencies and unraveling new patterns. Natural selection favors individuals with traits that enhance their survival and reproductive success. Like a sculptor’s chisel, selective pressure chips away at the less fortunate alleles, while the advantageous ones flourish.

Flipping the Tapestry: Selection’s Impact

As natural selection sculpts the genetic landscape, allele frequencies undergo dramatic transformations. Favorable alleles rise to prominence, while their less advantageous counterparts dwindle. This directional selection drives evolutionary change, molding populations to their ever-changing environments. As the gene pool, the collective genetic heritage of a population, evolves, so too do the observable characteristics and adaptations of its members.

From Micro to Macro: Evolutionary Impact

The dance of allele frequencies, orchestrated by natural selection, has profound implications. It explains the astonishing diversity of life on Earth, from the vibrant colors of butterflies to the streamlined forms of marine creatures. Understanding these evolutionary mechanisms empowers us to appreciate both the fragility and resilience of our planet’s genetic heritage. As we continue to unravel the intricate threads of natural selection, we unlock the secrets of life’s grand tapestry.

How Natural Selection Operates: A Tale of Evolutionary Advantage

In the realm of evolution, natural selection stands as a driving force, shaping the diversity of life on Earth. It operates through a simple yet profound mechanism: survival of the fittest.

Natural selection favors individuals with specific traits that enhance their fitness. Fitness, in this context, refers to the ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in its environment. Imagine a group of animals navigating a harsh winter landscape. Those with thick fur, providing insulation, may survive longer than their thin-furred counterparts.

Selective Pressure: The Crucible of Fitness

Environmental conditions exert selective pressure on populations. In our winter scenario, the cold acts as a selective pressure. Animals with poor insulation face increased mortality, while those with superior insulation thrive.

Survival and Reproduction: The Key to Propagating Advantageous Traits

Natural selection perpetuates advantageous traits by influencing the rates of survival and reproduction. Individuals with favorable traits, such as thick fur, have a higher chance of surviving to reproductive age and producing offspring that inherit their beneficial genes.

Beneficial Alleles: The Foundation of Evolutionary Change

The genes that code for advantageous traits, known as beneficial alleles, increase in frequency within a population over time. As more individuals inherit these genes, the population becomes better adapted to its environment.

The Evolutionary Arms Race

Natural selection is a continuous process, with selective pressures constantly shaping populations. Over generations, advantageous traits become more common, allowing species to adapt to changing environments. It’s an evolutionary arms race, where populations evolve to meet the challenges of their ever-changing world.

Natural Selection: Shaping Evolutionary Change Through Selective Pressure

In the intricate tapestry of life, natural selection plays a pivotal role in shaping the evolutionary trajectory of species. This remarkable force favors individuals with ** advantageous traits**, enhancing their survival and reproductive success.

Selective pressure emerges from environmental challenges, such as the availability of resources, predation, or competition. It acts upon phenotypes, the observable characteristics of individuals. Those phenotypes that confer a survival or reproductive edge become more prevalent in the population over time.

Consider the classic example of peppered moths. During the Industrial Revolution, pollution darkened tree trunks, providing an evolutionary advantage to dark-colored moths. Selective pressure favored this darker phenotype, leading to a shift in the moth population’s color distribution.

In a similar vein, antibiotic resistance in bacteria showcases the power of selective pressure. When exposed to antibiotics, bacteria with ** beneficial mutations** that confer resistance thrive, leading to a gradual increase in the frequency of resistant alleles.

Through this relentless process of selection, allele frequencies change. Alleles associated with advantageous traits become more common, while those with detrimental effects are gradually eliminated. Natural selection acts as a driving force, shaping the genetic makeup of populations and ultimately contributing to the diversity of life on Earth.

How Natural Selection Shapes the Genetic Landscape: Exploring Allele Frequencies and Evolutionary Change

In the realm of genetics, understanding the dance between allele frequencies and natural selection is crucial for unraveling the intricate tapestry of life’s diversity. Allele frequencies, representing the prevalence of different gene variants within a population, lay the foundation for genetic variation. Factors such as mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow orchestrate the ebb and flow of these allele frequencies.

Natural selection, a relentless force driving evolutionary change, favors individuals with advantageous traits that enhance their survival and reproductive success. It acts as a sculptor, molding populations over time. When advantageous traits are linked to specific alleles, natural selection alters allele frequencies, steering populations towards genetic profiles that maximize their fitness in their environment.

The gene pool, a collective genetic reservoir, holds the entire set of genes present in a population. Within this pool, mutation, gene flow, and genetic drift introduce new alleles and shuffle existing ones. Genetic drift, particularly prominent in small populations, can lead to random fluctuations in allele frequencies, potentially driving significant genetic changes.

Selective pressure, the driving force behind natural selection, exerts its influence on the survival and reproductive rates of individuals. Phenotype, the observable traits of an individual, determines its fitness within its environment. Individuals with traits that confer an advantage in their struggle for survival and reproduction will have a higher probability of passing on their genetic material. Over time, this leads to an increase in the frequency of advantageous alleles and a decrease in the frequency of harmful alleles.

Through its profound impact on allele frequencies, natural selection shapes the genetic makeup of populations, steering them towards adaptive traits that enhance their survival and reproductive success. It is a continuous process of refinement, aligning populations with their ever-changing environments. Understanding this interplay between allele frequencies and natural selection empowers us to appreciate the dynamic nature of life and the origins of the astounding diversity that graces our planet.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies

  • Understanding Allele Frequencies and Natural Selection
    • Allele frequency: the prevalence of different forms of a gene in a population.
    • Natural selection: the process by which individuals with advantageous traits become more prevalent.

Allele Frequency: The Foundation of Genetic Variation

  • Factors Influencing Allele Frequencies:
    • Mutation: random changes in DNA that can introduce new alleles.
    • Genetic drift: random fluctuations in allele frequencies, especially in small populations.
    • Gene flow: the exchange of genetic material between populations.
  • Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium: a theoretical state where allele frequencies remain constant under specific conditions.

Natural Selection: Driving Evolutionary Change

  • Favoring Individuals with Advantageous Traits:
    • Natural selection grants individuals with beneficial traits improved chances of survival and reproduction.
    • Selective pressure: the environmental forces that shape the fitness of individuals.

Gene Pool: The Collective Genetic Heritage

  • Total Set of Genes in a Population
  • Genetic Drift and the Impact on Allele Frequencies:
    • Random changes in allele frequencies can have a significant effect in small populations.
    • This can lead to the loss or fixation of certain alleles.

Selective Pressure: Shaping Phenotypic Diversity

  • Survival and Reproduction Rates:
    • Selective pressure influences the likelihood of an individual’s survival and reproductive success.
  • Phenotype: the observable traits of an individual that determine fitness.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies

  • Promoting Favorable Alleles:
    • Natural selection favors individuals with advantageous alleles, increasing their prevalence in the population.
    • Beneficial alleles become more common, while harmful alleles decrease in frequency.
  • Evolutionary Changes:
    • Natural selection drives evolutionary changes by selecting for traits that enhance a population’s fitness within its environment.

How Natural Selection Shapes Allele Frequencies: A Genetic Odyssey

2. Allele Frequency: The Foundation of Genetic Variation

In the tapestry of life, every living organism bears unique genetic blueprints, adorned with an intricate mosaic of alleles. Allele frequencies, the prevalence of these variants within a population, hold the key to understanding the evolutionary dynamics that have shaped our species and the natural world around us.

Mutation, the random alteration of genetic material, is like an artistic hand, introducing newfound possibilities into the genetic landscape. Genetic drift, the unpredictable fluctuations in allele frequencies due to chance events, acts as a sculptor, reshaping the genetic composition of small populations. Gene flow, the exchange of genetic material between populations, is a conduit, connecting and enriching the genetic diversity of neighboring groups.

3. Natural Selection: Driving Evolutionary Change

Amid this genetic dance, natural selection, the guiding force of evolution, emerges. Like a discerning connoisseur, it selects individuals whose inherited traits grant them an advantage in the challenges of their environment. These favored individuals thrive, passing on their advantageous genes to future generations.

Selective pressure, the environmental sieve that separates the winners from the less adapted, plays a pivotal role in this evolutionary play. It wields its power through the survival and reproductive successes of individuals, favoring those with traits that enhance their odds of survival and perpetuation.

The Gene Pool: A Collective Genetic Heritage

Gene pool represents the collective genetic wealth of a population, encompassing the entire spectrum of alleles present within its individuals. It’s a living, breathing entity that undergoes constant transformation, shaped by the forces of mutation, gene flow, and genetic drift.

In small populations, genetic drift can wield a disproportionate influence, its random fluctuations leaving an indelible mark on allele frequencies. Like a gust of wind that can alter the course of a ship, genetic drift can dramatically shift allele frequencies, even eliminating certain variants altogether. This unpredictable dance of genetic drift can profoundly impact the evolutionary destiny of small populations.

How Selective Pressure Shapes the Fate of Individuals

Selective pressure is nature’s relentless force that drives evolutionary change. It dictates the survival and reproduction rates of individuals within a population, shaping their genetic makeup and ultimately their fate.

Imagine a vast meadow teeming with wildflowers. Each flower harbors a unique combination of traits, a genetic tapestry woven by the interplay of alleles – different forms of genes. As the sun rises, a swarm of butterflies flutters through the meadow, their wings fluttering with vibrant hues. Some flowers exude a sweet fragrance that attracts butterflies, while others remain unscented.

Fateful Encounters

The encounter between butterflies and flowers is a defining moment for both species. For the flowers, pollination ensures the production of seeds, their genetic legacy. For the butterflies, the nectar provides sustenance for their journey. However, not all flowers are equal in their ability to attract butterflies.

The fragrant flowers, with their genetic predisposition for producing alluring scents, hold a distinct advantage over their scentless counterparts. Butterflies, guided by their innate instincts, preferentially seek out these fragrant blooms. They flutter from flower to flower, transferring pollen and facilitating cross-pollination.

Reproductive Success

As the summer progresses, the fragrant flowers produce an abundance of seeds, their genetic heritage passed on to the next generation. The scentless flowers, on the other hand, struggle to attract pollinators, their reproductive success dwindling.

Genetic Consequences

The selective pressure exerted by the butterflies leads to a shift in the meadow’s gene pool. Alleles responsible for producing fragrances gain an advantage, increasing in frequency within the population. Conversely, alleles associated with scentlessness become less common.

This subtle yet profound change in allele frequencies has significant implications for the meadow’s future. The fragrant flowers, with their enhanced ability to attract pollinators, dominate the landscape, ensuring the continued success of their genetic legacy.

Thus, selective pressure, like an invisible sculptor, molds the genetic makeup of populations, favoring traits that enhance survival and reproduction. It sculpts the tapestry of life, shaping the destiny of every individual within the intricate web of nature.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies: A Tale of Adaptation

In the vast tapestry of life, the presence of different forms of genes within a population is known as allele frequency. These variations play a critical role in the evolutionary journey of species. Enter natural selection, the driving force that favors individuals with traits that enhance their survival and reproductive success.

Allele Frequency: The Foundation of Genetic Variation

Allele frequencies are influenced by factors such as mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow. These forces alter the representation of different alleles within a population, creating the raw material for evolution. In the absence of these influences, allele frequencies remain stable, as described by the concept of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.

Natural Selection: The Selective Sword

Natural selection wields its power by granting a survival and reproductive advantage to individuals with favorable traits. This selective pressure shapes the genetic landscape, favoring alleles that enhance an individual’s fitness. Fitness, in turn, is determined by the interplay between the individual’s phenotype and its environment.

Phenotype: The Observable Expression of Genetics

Phenotype encompasses the observable traits of an individual, such as physical appearance, behavior, and physiological characteristics. These traits are shaped by the interplay of genotype (genetic makeup) and the environment. In the context of natural selection, phenotype plays a critical role in determining an individual’s fitness.

Fitness: The Key to Survival and Reproduction

Fitness is a measure of an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment. Traits that enhance an individual’s ability to acquire resources, avoid predators, or attract mates increase its fitness. Conversely, traits that impede these abilities reduce fitness.

Natural Selection and Allele Frequencies: A Dynamic Duo

Natural selection exerts its influence on allele frequencies by promoting the survival and reproduction of individuals with advantageous alleles. As these individuals pass on their beneficial genes, the frequency of these alleles increases within the population. Simultaneously, harmful alleles become less common as individuals carrying them are less likely to survive and reproduce. Over time, natural selection sculpts the genetic makeup of a population, driving evolutionary changes that improve its overall fitness within its environment.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies

Natural Selection: The Driving Force of Evolution

In the realm of genetics, allele frequencies dance to the rhythm of natural selection, a captivating process that orchestrates the evolutionary symphony. Natural selection favors individuals with advantageous traits, granting them a greater chance of survival and passing on their genetic legacy.

Allele Frequency: The Foundation of Genetic Variation

Allele frequencies, the relative abundance of different gene forms in a population, provide the raw material for natural selection’s transformative power. Mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow are the puppet masters behind allele frequencies, their actions shaping the genetic landscape.

Natural Selection: Promoting the Fittest

Natural selection acts as a meticulous filter, sifting through individuals and amplifying those who possess traits that enhance their fitness. Selective pressure, the driving force behind natural selection, dictates which individuals have the highest odds of survival and reproduction.

The Gene Pool: A Tapestry of Genetic Heritage

The gene pool encapsulates the collective genetic repertoire of a population, serving as a living library of genetic information. Mutations, gene flow, and genetic drift act like scribes, adding, subtracting, and altering the genetic code within the gene pool.

Selective Pressure: Shaping Phenotypic Diversity

Selective pressure sculpts phenotypic diversity, the observable traits that determine an individual’s fitness. These traits, from beak shape in birds to antibiotic resistance in bacteria, play a crucial role in dictating an individual’s survival and reproductive success.

How Natural Selection Alters Allele Frequencies

Natural selection exerts its influence on allele frequencies through a simple yet profound mechanism: promoting the survival of individuals with beneficial alleles. As these alleles confer an advantage to their bearers, they become more prevalent in the population, increasing in frequency. Conversely, harmful alleles are like sinking ships, their frequencies decreasing as their bearers succumb to the unforgiving forces of selective pressure.

Over time, natural selection’s relentless pursuit of fitness drives evolutionary changes that transform populations, molding them to the challenges and opportunities of their environment. It is through this intricate interplay between allele frequencies and natural selection that the tapestry of life weaves its diverse and ever-changing designs.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies

As we delve into the fascinating world of genetics, we’ll explore the intriguing concept of allele frequencies, the prevalence of different gene forms within a population. Understanding how natural selection, the driving force behind evolution, influences allele frequencies is crucial for comprehending the mechanisms that shape life’s diversity.

Allele Frequency: Laying the Foundation

Every gene exists in several forms, known as alleles, each encoding a unique trait. The frequency of an allele is determined by its abundance in a population’s gene pool, the sum total of all its genetic material. Factors such as mutation, random chance (genetic drift), and gene flow (the movement of genes between populations) can significantly alter these frequencies.

Natural Selection: Darwin’s Cornerstone

Natural selection is the process by which individuals with advantageous traits outlive and out-reproduce those without. These beneficial traits increase an individual’s fitness, their ability to survive and pass on their genes, and so their alleles become more prevalent in the population over generations.

Selective Pressure: Shaping Phenotypes

Selective pressure is the environmental or ecological factor that favors or hinders an individual’s survival and reproduction. It acts on the phenotype, the observable characteristics of an individual, which is influenced by its genotype (its genetic makeup). Traits that confer greater fitness, such as increased disease resistance or better foraging abilities, are more likely to be passed down to offspring.

The Dance of Alleles

Natural selection plays a direct role in shaping allele frequencies. As individuals with advantageous alleles are more likely to survive and reproduce, those alleles become more common in the population. Conversely, harmful alleles decrease in frequency as individuals carrying them have lower fitness.

Over time, this selective process drives evolutionary change, a gradual shift in a population’s genetic makeup that enhances its adaptation to its environment. By altering allele frequencies, natural selection molds the genetic tapestry of life, creating the remarkable diversity of species we witness today.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies: Driving Evolutionary Progress

Allele frequency refers to the presence of different variants of a gene within a population. Natural selection is the driving force behind evolution, favoring individuals with traits that enhance their survival and reproduction.

Natural Selection: Shaping Phenotypic Diversity

Selective pressure, driven by environmental influences, shapes the survival and reproduction rates of individuals. Phenotype, the observable traits of an individual, determines its fitness. Individuals with advantageous traits have a higher likelihood of passing on their genes.

How Natural Selection Affects Allele Frequencies

Natural selection directly alters allele frequencies by promoting the survival of individuals with beneficial alleles. Over time, advantageous alleles increase in frequency, while harmful alleles decrease. This process drives evolutionary changes that improve a population’s fitness within its environment.

Population Fitness: Adaptation and Survival

Natural selection optimizes the collective gene pool of a population, leading to increased fitness. Fitness refers to an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment. By favoring individuals with traits that enhance their survival and reproduction, natural selection shapes the population’s genetic composition, resulting in better adaptation to their surroundings.

Evolutionary Impacts: Long-Term Changes

Over multiple generations, natural selection can drive significant evolutionary changes. Populations can develop new traits, lose old ones, or adapt to changing environmental conditions. These evolutionary changes, driven by allele frequency shifts, ultimately shape the diversity of life on Earth.

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