2006-08-26 19:55:24 · 10 answers · asked by cork1904 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
Darwin summed it up thusly:
1. All life produce a surplus of offspring
2. Not all of those offspring will live long enough to produce offspring of their own
3. The ones who DO live to reproduce tend to be better adapted to their environment
Please note that 'their environment' is constantly changing. Rivers change their flow and the climate will change over time. Other animals become better hunters, prey faster runners and the vegetation is evolving also. So it's a moving target.
Some people like to call this 'micro evolution'. Multiply this with thousands of generations and what you get is... big changes.
2006-08-26 23:00:26 · answer #1 · answered by ThePeter 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe the central idea here is that individual animals in a species, born with many minor variations between each other, will with a change in the environment, be more or less fit in that changed environment, and so influence how the species adapts overall.
When a large-scale change occurs in their environment (for worse - an ice age starts; or for better - the dinosaurs die off and now there's a new ecological niche opening up) individual animals of that species, who were born with certain traits that give them a slight advantage, will be more likely to live and breed.
Over time, the species as a whole will take these (originally minor) mutations and develop into something different, but more fit in the new environment.
2006-08-27 03:08:23 · answer #2 · answered by wm_omnibus 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh pish-tosh! I simply believe that natural selection is the process of mutation based on what kind of environment you are into.
Say you are in Antarctica, I guess you will need a thick fur or something like that.... then here comes the polar bears....
But it is a very long process and these mutations will be passed on to the offsprings.
2006-08-27 11:19:17 · answer #3 · answered by Klyde L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This theory relates to all living things - from viruses to flowers to plants.
it states that due to continuous mutations there is a variability in the genetic make up of individuals in any species, and because external conditions always create some form of competition, some individuals have a better chance to survive and proliferate, and over time the genetic make up of these more successful individuals will become abundant, while the genetic make up of the less successful will disappear.
2006-08-27 03:20:54 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
This means that the natural evolution weeds out the weak animals. So, only the strong survive. Get it?
2006-08-27 02:58:59 · answer #5 · answered by robyn 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The most effective animals have the greatest chance on surviving and producing offspring.
If you don't produce offspring for any reason your DNA is lost and you have been naturally deselected so to speak.
2006-08-27 03:02:58 · answer #6 · answered by Puppy Zwolle 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Natural selection is when the enviroment changes overtime and the well adapted species will survive, while the poor adapted will die.
2006-08-27 11:50:54 · answer #7 · answered by jjefferson210 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that only the strongest and smartest will survive and the offspring will evolve to be better at whatever it is they do. the stronger males and females will have more babies making the next generation strong and so on. hope that makes sense.
2006-08-27 03:05:34 · answer #8 · answered by whatever 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The cleverest and strongest eat the rest.
2006-08-27 17:32:48 · answer #9 · answered by John A 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_selection#Evolution_by_means_of_natural_selection
2006-08-27 02:59:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋