natural selection
Evolutionary filtering process
Natural selection is the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more than others, passing advantageous traits to offspring.
Over generations, this drives evolutionary change.
Darwin proposed it as the mechanism behind species diversity.
The term extends metaphorically to any competitive process where the fittest options prevail: The market provides a kind of natural selection among startups.
Adaptive advantage perpetuates species
- reproductive successOffspring contribution to future generations
- struggle for existenceCompetition for limited resources
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- fitnessGood physical shape
Species' total genetic diversity
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
- phenotypeObservable characteristics of organism
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
- genetic variationInherited molecular differences
recombination · genetic drift · inheritance · dominant · recessive · locus · allele · chromosome
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
- naturalistStudent of nature
- tree of lifeDiagram of evolutionary connections
HMS Beagle · Darwinian · neo-Darwinism · gradualism · transmutation · Darwin's finches
Good physical shape
- survivorshipState of remaining alive
- fecundityReproductive capacity
- mortalityState of eventual death
- defense mechanismsUnconscious strategies avoiding distress
camouflage · resilience · extinction · life history · longevity
Recessed wall space
- predationHunting and consuming prey
- competitionStruggle for supremacy
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
biodiversity · food chain · predator-prey · camouflage · mimicry · coevolution · carrying capacity · environmental adaptation
Separation from common origin
- macroevolutionEvolutionary change above species
- microevolutionSmall hereditary changes within populations
- phylogenyEvolutionary relationships among organisms
- bottleneckConstriction limiting throughput
survival of the fittest
Adaptive advantage perpetuates species
- reproductive successOffspring contribution to future generations
- struggle for existenceCompetition for limited resources
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
gene pool
Species' total genetic diversity
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
- phenotypeObservable characteristics of organism
- mutationPermanent DNA alteration
genetic variation · recombination · genetic drift · inheritance · dominant · recessive · locus · allele · chromosome · genomics
Charles Darwin
- DarwinismNatural selection theory
- common ancestorOrigin point of descendants
- naturalistStudent of nature
HMS Beagle · tree of life · Darwinian · neo-Darwinism · gradualism · transmutation · Darwin's finches
fitness
Good physical shape
- survivorshipState of remaining alive
- fecundityReproductive capacity
- mortalityState of eventual death
defense mechanisms · camouflage · resilience · extinction · life history · longevity
niche
Recessed wall space
- predationHunting and consuming prey
- competitionStruggle for supremacy
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
ecosystem · biodiversity · food chain · predator-prey · camouflage · mimicry · coevolution · carrying capacity · environmental adaptation
divergence
Separation from common origin
- macroevolutionEvolutionary change above species
- microevolutionSmall hereditary changes within populations
- phylogenyEvolutionary relationships among organisms
- ecologyhabitat, ecosystem, balance, niche, food webs
- evolutionevolution, mutation, adaptation, speciation, fitness
- Biology HistoryDarwin, Mendel, evolution, cell theory, germ theory
- human biologygenetics, DNA analysis, nutrition, human evolution, human origins
- origins debatecreationism, evolution, intelligent design, creation science, Darwinism
- Evolutionary Genomicshomology, divergence, convergent evolution, genetic drift, mutation
natural selectionartificial selection
Human-controlled trait propagation
selective breeding · domestication · genetic engineering · eugenics · animal husbandry
natural, selection, unnatural, selected, selective, supernatural, selecting, naturalness, naturalize