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IGCSE Biology CIE
18.1 Variation & Natural Selection
CONTENTS
18.1.1 Variation
18.1.2 Adaptive Features
18.1.3 Adaptive Features: Extended
18.1.4 Natural Selection
18.1.5 Artificial Selection
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18.1.1 Variation YOUR NOTES
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Types of Variation YOUR NOTES
Variation is defined as differences between individuals of the same species
Phenotypic variation is the difference in features between individuals of the same species
Some of these differences are caused by differences in genes, which is genetic variation
Phenotypic variation can be divided into two types depending on how you are able to
group the measurements:
Continuous Variation is when there are very many small degrees of difference for a
particular characteristic between individuals and they are arranged in order and can
usually be measured on a scale
Examples include height, mass, finger length etc. where there can be many
‘inbetween’ groups
Discontinuous Variation is when there are distinct differences for a characteristic
For example, people are either blood group A, B, AB or O; are either male or female; can
either roll their tongue or not - there are no ‘inbetweens’
When graphs of these data are plotted, continuous variation gives smooth bell curves (a
result of all the small degrees of difference), whereas discontinuous gives a ‘step – like’
shape
Height is an example of continuous variation which gives rise to a smooth bell-shaped curve
when plotted as a graph
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YOUR NOTES
Blood group is an example of discontinuous variation which gives rise to a step-shaped
graph
Phenotypic Variation
Phenotypic variation can be caused in two main ways:
It can be genetic - controlled entirely by genes
Or it can be environmental - caused entirely by the environment in which the organism
lives
Genetic Variation
Examples of genetic variation in humans include:
blood group
eye colour
gender
ability to roll tongue
whether ear lobes are free or fixed
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YOUR NOTES
Whether earlobes are attached (lobeless) or free (lobed) is an example of genetic variation
Environmental Variation
Characteristics of all species can be affected by environmental factors such as climate,
diet, accidents, culture and lifestyle
In this instance ‘environmental’ simply means ‘outside of the organism’ and so can include
factors like climate, diet, culture, lifestyle and accidents during lifetime
Examples include:
An accident may lead to scarring on the body
Eating too much and not leading an active lifestyle will cause weight gain
Being raised in a certain country will cause you to speak a certain language with a
certain accent
A plant in the shade of a big tree will grow taller to reach more light
Genetic and Environmental Causes
Discontinuous variation is usually caused by genetic variation alone
Continuous features often vary because of a combination of genetic and environmental
causes, for example:
tall parents will pass genes to their children for height
their children have the genetic potential to also be tall
however if their diet is poor then they will not grow very well
therefore their environment also has an impact on their height
Another way of looking at this is that although genes decide what characteristics we inherit,
the surrounding environment will affect how these inherited characteristics develop
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Mutation YOUR NOTES
Mutations are genetic changes
Most mutations have no effect on the phenotype as the protein that a mutated gene
produces may work just as well as the protein from the non - mutated gene
Rarely, mutations lead to the development of new alleles and so new phenotypes and if
they do, most have a small effect on the organism
Occasionally, the new allele gives the individual a survival advantage over other members
of the species
For example:
A bird develops a mutation leading to a change in feather colours
This makes it more attractive to birds of the opposite sex
Which causes the bird to breed more frequently and have more chances of passing on
the mutated phenotype to the next generation
Mutations can also lead to harmful changes that can have dramatic effects on the
organism - for example, sickle cell anaemia in humans
Mutations happen spontaneously and continuously but their frequency can be increased
by exposure to the following:
Gamma rays, x - rays and ultraviolet rays - all types of ionising radiation which can
damage bonds and cause changes in base sequences
Certain types of chemicals - for example chemicals such as tar in tobacco
Increased rates of mutation can cause cells to become cancerous, which is why the above
are linked to increased incidence of different types of cancer
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Mutation: Extended YOUR NOTES
Mutations are random genetic changes to the base sequence of DNA
Most mutations have no effect on the phenotype as the protein that a mutated gene
produces may work just as well as the protein from the non - mutated gene
Rarely, mutations lead to the development of new alleles and so new phenotypes and if
they do, most have a small effect on the organism
Occasionally, the new allele gives the individual a survival advantage over other members
of the species
For example:
A bird develops a mutation leading to a change in feather colours
This makes it more attractive to birds of the opposite sex
Which causes the bird to breed more frequently and have more chances of passing on
the mutated phenotype to the next generation
Mutations can also lead to harmful changes that can have dramatic effects on the
organism - for example, sickle cell anaemia in humans
Mutations happen spontaneously and continuously but their frequency can be increased
by exposure to the following:
Gamma rays, x - rays and ultraviolet rays - all types of ionising radiation which can
damage bonds and cause changes in base sequences
Certain types of chemicals - for example chemicals such as tar in tobacco
Increased rates of mutation can cause cells to become cancerous, which is why the above
are linked to increased incidence of different types of cancer
Summary of Sources of Genetic Variation in Populations
Mutations
New alleles form through random changes to DNA
Meiosis
New allele combinations form through segregation
Random mating
Which partnerships form for sexual reproduction
Random fertilisation
Which sperm and egg combinations occur during sexual reproduction
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18.1.2 Adaptive Features YOUR NOTES
Adaptations & Fitness
Adaptive features are the inherited functional features of an organism that increase its
fitness
Fitness is the probability of an organism surviving and reproducing in the environment in
which it is found
You should be able to interpret images or other information about a species in order to
describe its adaptive features, for example:
A typical question here might be to explain how the leaf area and distribution and density of
stomata help different species of plant survive in their different habitats
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18.1.3 Adaptive Features: Extended YOUR NOTES
Hydrophytes & Xerophytes: Extended
Hydrophytes
Plants adapted to live in extremely wet conditions
Common adaptations include:
Large air spaces in their leaves to keep them close to the surface of the water where
there is more light for photosynthesis
Small roots as they can also extract nutrients from the surrounding water through their
tissues
Stomata usually open all the time and mainly found on the upper epidermis of the leaf
where they can exchange gases much more easily with the air
Hydrophytes are adapted to live in wet conditions such as ponds
Xerophytes
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Plant adapted to live in extremely dry conditions YOUR NOTES
Common adaptations include:
Thick waxy cuticle - the cuticle cuts down water loss in two ways: it acts as a barrier to
evaporation and also the shiny surface reflects heat and so lowers the temperature
Sunken stomata: stomata may be sunk in pits in the epidermis; moist air trapped here
lengthens the diffusion pathway and reduces the evaporation rate
Leaf rolled with stomata inside and an inner surface covered in hairs - traps moist air
and prevents air movement across stomata which reduces transpiration
Small leaves: many xerophytic plants have small, needle-shaped leaves which reduce
the surface area and therefore the evaporating surface
Extensive shallow roots allow for the quick absorption of large quantities of water
when it rains
Thickened leaves or stems which contain cells that store water
Xerophytes are adapted to live in extremely dry conditions such as deserts
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18.1.4 Natural Selection YOUR NOTES
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Natural Selection YOUR NOTES
In any environment, the individuals that have the best adaptive features are the ones most
likely to survive and reproduce
This results in natural selection:
Individuals in a species show a range of variation caused by differences in genes
When organisms reproduce, they produce more offspring than the environment is able to
support
This leads to competition for food and other resources which results in a ‘struggle for
survival’
Individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment have a higher chance of
survival and more chances to reproduce
Therefore the alleles resulting in these characteristics are passed to their offspring at a
higher rate than those with characteristics less suited to survival
This means that in the next generation, there will be a greater number of individuals with
the better adapted variations in characteristics
This theory of natural selection was put forward by Charles Darwin and became known as
‘survival of the fittest’
An example of natural selection
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Natural selection illustrated by snail shell colour YOUR NOTES
Within the population of snails there is variation in shell colour
Normal varieties of shell colours in this snail species is black or grey (as evidenced by the
first picture)
Chance mutations lead to a small number of snails / one snail having a white shell
This ‘small number’ is shown in the second diagram where there are less white shelled snails
than black or grey shelled snails
The white shelled snail(s) survive longer
This is the ‘survival of the fittest’, a term used to explain why some organisms succeed in
the competitive struggle for survival against other members of their population
The reason the white shelled snail(s) survive longer is because they are better
camouflaged
This means that they are less likely to be seen by predators and eaten
As they survive longer they get more opportunities to reproduce
And so the allele for white shells is passed onto offspring more frequently than the alleles
for black or grey shells
Over generations, this is repeated until the majority of snails in the population have white
shells
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YOUR NOTES
Another good example of natural selection is the evolution of the peppered moths
Exam Tip
There are hundreds of thousands of examples of natural selection and you cannot
possibly be familiar with all of them, however, they ALL follow the same sequence
described above:
Based on the idea that within a species there is always variation and chance
mutations, some individuals will develop a phenotype (characteristic) that
gives them a survival advantage and therefore will:
live longer
breed more
and be more likely to pass their genes on
Repeated over generations, the ‘mutated’ phenotype will become the norm
Remember, it is the concept you have to understand, not the specific example.
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Adaptation by Natural Selection: Extended YOUR NOTES
If the environment does not change, selection does not change
This will favour individuals with the same characteristics as their parents
If the environment changes, or a chance mutation produces a new allele, selection might
now favour individuals with different characteristics or with the new allele
So the individuals that survive and reproduce will have a different set of alleles that they
pass on to their offspring
Over time, this will bring about a change in the characteristics of the species - it will
produce evolution
Evolution is defined as the change in adaptive features of a population over time as a
result of natural selection
Natural selection results in a process of adaptation, which means that, over generations,
those features that are better adapted to the environment become more common
This is how evolution occurs
This means populations of organisms become better suited to their environment
A good example of this is the development of antibiotic resistance by bacteria
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YOUR NOTES
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18.1.5 Artificial Selection YOUR NOTES
Selective Breeding
Selective breeding means to select individuals with desirable characteristics and breed
them together
The process doesn’t stop there though because it’s likely that not all of the offspring will
show the characteristics you want so offspring that do show the desired characteristics
are selected and bred together
This process has to be repeated for many successive generations before you can
definitely say you have a ‘new breed’ which will reliably show those selected
characteristics in all offspring
An example of selective breeding is dog breeders who select which dogs can mate
together to increase the likelihood of puppies displaying desirable characteristics eg. coat
colour
This has given rise to the many recognisable dog breeds of today, all the same species
(Canis familiaris) and all descended from one breed
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Natural vs Artificial Selection: Extended YOUR NOTES
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