Adaptations and Evolution
This post will go through the relationship between adaptation and evolution and how it makes up The Theory of Natural Selection for Prelim Biology
Topic: Adaptations
- Investigate, through secondary sources, the observations and collection of data that were obtained by Charles Darwin to support the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, for example:
- Finches of the Galapagos Islands
- Australian flora and fauna
The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
Looking back at adaptations, we now know that they form over a very long time and that they are specific features that complement an organism’s environment or increase their likelihood of survival, so the organism has essentially evolved to carry this adaptation.
So, The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection explains this. Natural selection is a process in which creatures that have more favorable traits have a higher likelihood of surviving to reproduce and pass on their traits to offspring. Over time, this will affect the image of the population, with the favorable traits becoming more and more widespread. The theory was published by Charles Darwin but discovered by both him and Alfred Wallace.
This video will go through The Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection in a little more depth and will look at Darwin’s finches.
This video is a short summary of the previous video.
If you have the time, watch this video to better understand how Charle’s Darwin and Alfred Wallace reached the conclusion of evolution by natural selection.
A little on Australia’s Flora and Fauna
You will have to look at how some native Australian plant and animal species have adapted to the Australian climate over the years. Australia is a very dry, arid place. This has resulted in many plants adapting to preserve water, (e.g. eucalyptus leaves hanging down to reduce the amount of sunlight that gets on the leaf to reduce transpiration) and animals as well (e.g. the spinifex hopping mouse, highly concentrated urine to reduce the amount of water lost, large, thin ears and tail for heat loss).
This video goes through a few changes in Australian species
This is a good summary video for this post.
