Thursday 30 April 2020

What is natural selection?



a) What is natural selection?
(Theory put forward by Charles Darwin that explains that) Nature selects for individuals that are well adapted to a particular environment; and against those that are less adapted;


b) Discuss three examples of natural selection in action
Melanic forms of peppered moths; in Europe, there are two forms of peppered moths; white and black; before industrialization, the tree trunks were white; therefore the white peppered moths were white; hence were camouflaged; the black varieties were easily noticed and fed upon by predatory birds; the white form therefore reproduced and increased in number; during industrialization, the smoke from industries coated tree trunks black; the black variety became camouflaged; reproduced and increased in population; the white variety were easily noticed and fed upon by predators; they reduced in population; Resistance against drugs and antibiotics; where microorganisms are continually exposed to a certain drug; their cells synthesise specific proteins; which counter the drug; this ability to synthesize the protein is passed onto the offspring; Resistance to pesticides by insects; insects such as mosquitoes when continually exposed to a particular pesticide; synthesize a specific protein which make them resistant to the pesticide; this is then inherited by their offspring;

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