Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking contribution to science was his idea of evolution by natural selection. The theory of ‘natural selection’ refers to a process wherein nature ‘selects’ traits that are beneficial in survival in a particular environment. Because environments and circumstances change, new traits are consistently selected as species adapt and reproduce. Please watch this PBS video ( https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dyiZaHIRM6w ) on evolution to get a brief overview of Charles Darwin’s lasting contribution to science.
There are four main forces in evolution: mutation, genetic drift, gene flow and natural selection. Mutations are quite common, and can be positive, negative, or neutral depending on how they are naturally selected. Mutations are the source of new genetic variability in a population. Genetic drift refers to random changes in allele frequency in a population. Genetic flow refers to the movement of alleles from one gene pool to another (chapter 4).
In this discussion, refer to the example the peppered moth in Chapter 4 (pg. 12). How is this an example of natural selection? How can we observe evolution by examining case studies such as the peppered moth in post-industrial England? For an overview of the importance of the peppered moth case in evolutionary theory, review this article and video ( https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36424768 )
In addition to discussing the case study of the peppered moth, what other example discussed in chapter 4 did you find especially interesting? How does this example highlight an important aspect of evolution?
Chapter 4 book- https://pressbooks.calstate.edu/explorationsbioanth2/chapter/4/
