Where the most well adapted individual survives and reproduces is known as?
The process by which some organisms in a population survive and reproduce, while others do not, based on their bodies and behaviour Show
Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi), four giraffes stand in savannah, Kenya, Masai Mara National Park blickwinkel/F. Stober/Alamy Natural selection is the process by which some organisms in a population survive and reproduce, while others do not, based on their bodies and behaviour. It is one of the processes by which species change from generation to generation, and is a crucial element of the theory of evolution. A classic example of natural selection at work is the origin of giraffes’ long necks. The ancestors of modern giraffes were animals similar to deer or antelope, with necks of ordinary length. However, because the trees in their habitat were tall, those giraffes with slightly longer necks had an advantage over their shorter-necked fellows. The longer-necked giraffes reproduced more, so in the next generation longer necks were more common. Over many generations this process produced giraffes as they are today. This process of natural selection was first described by Charles Darwin in 1859 in On the Origin of Species. It helps explain how the many varied species on Earth could be descended from a single ancestral species. Natural selection is sometimes summed up as “survival of the fittest”. This is true but can be misleading. The word “fittest” does not necessarily refer to physical fitness. Rather, it means how well-suited an organism is to its environment and lifestyle. The fittest organisms are not necessarily the fastest or strongest: often they are the most cooperative. AdvertisementNatural selection can produce surprising results. It can produce more complex organisms, for example creating multicellular organisms from single-celled ones, but it can also simplify: for example, fish species that live in dark caves lose their eyes. Furthermore, when circumstances change natural selection can swiftly reverse course. However, natural selection has its limits. In particular, because it is not guided by a consciousness, it has no foresight and can lead species to evolve down paths that seem advantageous but actually lead to extinction. There is also more to evolution than natural selection. Species can change in a more undirected way by a process called genetic drift, in which certain genetic variants become more common despite not having any particular advantage. When a species is not under strong selection, genes can vary more freely and this sometimes leads to the emergence of remarkable new traits. There is also sexual selection, in which animals choose their potential mates not because of their actual fitness, but on the basis of showy ornaments like peacock’s tails or complex songs. Finally, many organisms have cultural behaviours such as tool use, and these feed back onto traditional evolutionary processes like natural selection. Evolution is also chaotic, meaning that the changes it produces are not always predictable. This is partly because it relies on random mutations to produce the raw material on which natural selection can act. More controversially, it has been argued that natural selection has a kind of memory that allows it to swiftly recreate old solutions when they are needed. Nowadays there is also a new force in evolution: humans. We are exerting new selection pressures on many species, changing them in unpredictable ways. Unfortunately, many people have persistent misconceptions about evolution. Some are simple misunderstandings — ideas that develop in the course of learning about evolution, possibly from school experiences and/or the media. Other misconceptions may stem from purposeful attempts to misrepresent evolution and undermine the public’s understanding of this topic. Browse the lists below to learn about common misconceptions regarding evolution, as well as clarifications of these misconceptions. You can also download a pdf of this section. (links need updating in PDF) Misconceptions about evolutionary theory and processes
Misconceptions about natural selection and adaptation
Misconceptions about evolutionary trees
Misconceptions about population genetics
Misconceptions about evolution and the nature of science
Misconceptions about the acceptance of evolution
Misconceptions about the implications of evolution
Misconceptions about evolution and religion
Misconceptions about teaching evolution
Misconceptions about evolutionary theory and processes
Similarly, we can observe rapid evolution going on around us all the time. Over the past 50 years, we’ve observed squirrels evolve new breeding times in response to climate change, a fish species evolve resistance to toxins dumped into the Hudson River, and a host of microbes evolve resistance to new drugs we’ve developed. Many different factors can foster rapid evolution — small population size, short generation time, big shifts in environmental conditions — and the evidence makes it clear that this has happened many times. To learn more about the pace of evolution, visit Evolution 101. To learn more about rapid evolution in response to human-caused changes in the environment, visit our news story on climate change , our news story on the evolution of PCB-resistant fish, or our research profile on the evolution of fish size in response to our fishing practices.
Back to top Misconceptions about natural selection and adaptation
So what’s the evolutionary explanation for altruism if it’s not for the good of the species? There are many ways that such behaviors can evolve. For example, if altruistic acts are “repaid” at other times, this sort of behavior may be favored by natural selection. Similarly, if altruistic behavior increases the survival and reproduction of an individual’s kin (who are also likely to carry altruistic genes), this behavior can spread through a population via natural selection. To learn more about the process of natural selection, visit our article on this topic. Advanced students of evolutionary biology may be interested to know that selection can act at different levels and that, in some circumstances, species-level or group-level selection may occur. However, it’s important to remember that, even in this case, selection has no foresight and is not “aiming” at any outcome; it is simply favoring the reproducing units that are best at leaving copies of themselves in the next generation. To learn more about levels of selection, visit our side trip on this topic.
Back to top Misconceptions about evolutionary trees
Back to top Misconceptions about population genetics
Back to top Misconceptions about evolution and the nature of science
Back to top Misconceptions about the acceptance of evolution
Back to top Misconceptions about the implications of evolution
Back to top Misconceptions about evolution and religion
Back to top Misconceptions about evolution and religion
Back to top What is it called when the best adapted organisms survive and reproduce?Natural selection is a mechanism of evolution. Organisms that are more adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on the genes that aided their success. This process causes species to change and diverge over time.
What is it called to survive and reproduce?Answer and Explanation: The ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in the specific biological environment is known as adaptation or fitness of the individuals.
Which individuals are most likely to survive and reproduce?Individuals with adaptive traits—traits that give them some advantage—are more likely to survive and reproduce. These individuals then pass the adaptive traits on to their offspring. Over time, these advantageous traits become more common in the population.
How does an adaptation help an individual survive and reproduce?Adaptations are inheritable characteristics that increase an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in an environment. Adaptations can help an organism find food and water, protect itself, or manage in extreme environments.
What is adaptation for survival in biology?• adaptation – a characteristic of form or behavior that helps an organism survive. • behavioral adaptation – an animal's actions or things it does which helps it survive. in a specific environment, including both learned and instinctive behaviors.
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