Essential Idea:
The diversity of life has evolved and
continues to evolve by natural selection
Understandings:
- Natural selection can only occur if there is variation among members of the same species
- Mutation, meiosis and sexual reproduction cause variation between individuals in a species
- Adaptations are characteristics that make an individual suited to its environment and way of life
- Species tend to produce more offspring than the environment can support
- Individuals that are better adapted tend to survive and produce more offspring while the less well adapted tend to die or produce fewer offspring
- Individuals that reproduce pass on characteristics to their offspring
- Natural selection increases the frequency of characteristics that make individuals better adapted and decreases the frequency of other characteristics leading to changes within the species
Applications:
- Changes in beaks of finches on Daphne Major
- Evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria