Natural selection

Question 1

What is natural selection

Answer 1

process where organisms better adapted survive and reproduce, better phenotypes= leave behind more offspring carrying on the good alleles

Question 2

What is an adaption

Answer 2

A trait that increases survival and reproduction

Question 3

What does survival of the fittest mean

Answer 3

Those best adapted are more likely to survive and reproduce

Question 4

How can natural selection lead to speciation

Answer 4

Populations diverge over time and form new species

Question 5

Why is genetic variation important for natural selection

Answer 5

it provides the different traits (raw material) upon which selection can act, allowing populations to adapt to environmental changes and survive

Question 6

conditions needed for natural selection to take place

Answer 6

Natural selection needs genetic variation in a population and selection pressures that make some traits more advantageous.
Individuals with beneficial traits survive and reproduce more, passing those traits on.

Question 7

what is selection pressure

Answer 7

something that forces the population to change/evolve

Question 8

Theory of natural selection

Answer 8

Wide range of variation between individuals

Must compete for limited resources (e.g. food, light, mates)

Some may have characteristics enabling them to survive and
reproduce more successfully

‘Successful’ characteristics are passed to offspring

Over time, more individuals will have these ‘successful’
characteristics

Those that are less well adapted and compete less successfully
will die out, leaving only the ‘fittest’ to survive

Question 9

What are endemic species

Answer 9

plants or animals restricted to a specific, unique geographical location—such as an island, country, or specific habitat—and are found nowhere else on Earth.

Therefore very vulnerable to habitat changes and extinction

e.g lemurs