Variation and Natural Selection
Are individuals in a population of a
species the same?
No – all members of a
species share the common
characteristics of that
species, but there are still
differences
Variation – differences
between individuals of the
same species
EX. All dogs have hair, but not all dogs have the
same color hair
Dog Variation
What causes variation?
There are 2 main causes of variations in a
population:
1. Mutation – A change in the DNA of an organism
that leads to a change in a protein being made by
the organism
Sometimes the new protein can lead to a new trait
Mutations can be caused by DNA being copied
incorrectly during replication, by mistakes during
meiosis, or by radiation or chemicals in the
environment
What causes variation?
There are 2 main causes of variations in a
population:
Recombination – The creation of a new set of
DNA in offspring during sexual reproduction
Since each parent passes down only ½ of their
DNA, the DNA in the offspring is a unique
combination of DNA from both parents
How does variation lead to evolution?
Sometimes mutations or recombination
results in a trait that improves an organism’s
chances for survival (increases fitness)
Adaptation – a trait that helps an organism
to survive and/or reproduce
There are 2 types of adaptations:
1. Structural Adaptation
2. Behavioral Adaptation
How does variation lead to evolution?
1. Structural Adaptation – a physical trait that helps
an organism to survive (EX. the sharp teeth of a
lion, the spines of a cactus)
How does variation lead to evolution?
2. Behavioral Adaptation – a behavioral trait that
helps an organism to survive (EX. plover birds
faking injury to lure predators away from nest)
How does variation lead to evolution?
Adaptations are traits which means they are
caused by genes
Organisms with the best adaptations have the
“best” genes and highest fitness
These organisms survive and reproduce more,
passing on their genes, and changing the
relative frequency of genes in the gene pool of
the next generation (“good” genes appear
more frequently)
How does variation lead to evolution?
As the gene pool changes generation after
generation, the species characteristics change
or evolve
As time goes by, the species can undergo
changes both minor and major (descent with
modification), or even become a new species
(speciation)
Darwin’s Observations
Patterns of Diversity
Organisms are extremely well suited to their
particular environments
Similar ecosystems in different parts of the world
have different organisms (EX. No rabbits in
Australia)
Living Organisms & Fossils
Some fossils similar to living organisms, some
different – How are they related to living species?
Why had so many species disappeared?
Darwin’s
Observations
Galapagos Islands
Similar species existed on different islands with
slightly altered traits
EX. Darwin noted 13 species of finch, one from
each island, all with a different beak shape perfect
for its particular food source
Could these similar species have evolved from a
common ancestor?
The influence of others on Darwin
James Hutton - Geologist
Geological processes are slow, so the Earth must
be more than a few 1000 years old
Charles Lyell – Geologist
Processes occurring now have shaped the Earth’s
formation over long periods of time (Gradualism)
Could life change as well?
The influence of others on Darwin
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck – Naturalist
Theory of inheritance of acquired traits
Organisms develop adaptation by “use or disuse”
of organs, and pass these traits to their offspring –
INCORRECT but influential
Thomas Malthus – Economist
If human populations continue to grow unchecked,
they will eventually run out of resources
Only war, famine, disease could control the
population
Artificial Selection – The influence
of farmers and breeders on Darwin
English farmers and breeders routinely used
variation to improve crops and livestock
Through selective breeding, farmers would
determine which individuals to use for breeding
based on natural variation (biggest pigs, etc.)
Darwin calls this artificial selection
Nature provides the variation and humans select the
traits they find useful
Could a similar process exist in nature without human
influence?
What is natural
selection?
In 1859, Charles Darwin
published his book On
the Origin of Species,
where he explained how
species evolve by a
process called natural
selection
Darwin’s Idea
Darwin realized that adaptations increase
the fitness of an organism
Fitness is an organism’s ability to survive
and reproduce in a specific environment
Darwin realized that organisms with high
fitness were more likely to survive and
reproduce
What is natural selection?
Natural Selection – process where organisms
with the best adaptations for their environment
survive, reproduce, and pass their genes to the
next generation
Natural selection is a 4-step process:
1. Overproduction – there are more organisms
born than the environment can support
2. Competition – organisms compete with other
members of the population for resources
(food, shelter, water, mates)
What is natural selection?
3. Survival of the Fittest – organisms in a
population are not all the same (variation) -
organisms with better adaptations are more
successful than organisms without these
adaptations so they tend to live longer and
reproduce more
4. Passing of Traits – genes that cause
adaptations are passed from one generation to
the next, changing the gene pool and causing
changes in the overall traits of the species
(beneficial adaptations appear more
frequently)
EX. Giraffes
1. More giraffes are born
than the environment
can support
2. Giraffes compete for
resources
3. The giraffes with the
longest necks have a
survival advantage, so
they survive longer and
reproduce more
EX. Giraffes
4. The genes causing the
longest necks are passed
on more than the other
neck genes, changing the
giraffe gene pool and
causing the average neck
length of giraffes to
increase from one
generation to the next
Types of Natural Selection
Variation of species characteristics occurs along a
spectrum ranging from one extreme to another
EX. Height in humans, from very short to very tall
Types of Natural Selection
Directional Selection
Individuals at one end of the variation curve
have increased fitness
Types of
Natural
Selection
Stabilizing Selection
Individuals in the
middle of the variation
curve have increased
fitness
Types of Natural Selection
Disruptive Selection
Individuals at both ends of the variation curve
have increased fitness
May lead to the development of two subspecies
Types of Natural Selection
Speciation
Speciation is the
formation of new species
Speciation may occur
when a population splits
into two or more groups
that become
reproductively isolated
and continue to evolve
independently of one
another
Speciation
Reproductive isolation occurs in three
ways:
1. Behavioral Isolation – differences in
behavior prevent mating between two
populations
2. Geographic Isolation – geographic barriers
prevent mating between two populations
3. Temporal Isolation – two populations
reproduce at different times, so they don’t
mate with one another
Speciation: Anagenesis vs Cladogenesis
Types of Speciation
Patterns of Evolution
Adaptive Radiation – one species, or a small
group of species, gives rise to many new species
Convergent Evolution – Process by which
unrelated organisms come to resemble one
another
Happens when different organisms face similar
environmental demands
EX. Streamlined bodies and swimming appendages in
fish and aquatic mammals (whales, etc.)
Coevolution – When two species evolve in
response to changes in one another over time
EX. Flowers and insects, predator/prey relationships
Punctuated Equilibrium – Rapid evolution
after long periods of equilibrium
Remember…
Individuals DO NOT EVOLVE
Species populations evolve when traits are
passed from one generation to the next in an
unequal way, which makes some traits appear
more than others in the next generation
Over time, natural selection results in changes in
the inherited characteristics of a population,
which increases a species’ fitness in its
environment
Over many generations, this can lead to large
changes in the overall traits of a species
population, and even create new species
