Natural Selection
The process where nature chooses the organisms with favorable traits survive and reproduce more successfully.
What is natural selection?
A random change in DNA that can lead to a new trait.
What is a mutation?
The differences in DNA or traits among individuals in a population.
What is genetic variation?
In a polluted forest, moths of this color had higher survival rates.
What is dark-colored?
This survival strategy allows animals to blend in with their environment to avoid predators.
What is camouflage?
Mutations can be harmful, helpful, or this.
What is neutral?
This is why genetic variation is important in changing environments.
What is it increases survival chances?
In a clean forest, moths of this color had higher survival rates.
What is light-colored?
The change in coloration of peppered moths during the Industrial Revolution is an example of this.
What is natural selection in response to environmental change?
A mutation that increases an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce is called this.
What is a beneficial mutation?
This process during reproduction increases genetic variation and requires two parents.
What is sexual reproduction?
Over generations, this process can cause new traits to become common in a species.
What is evolution by natural selection?
These are the building blocks of variation in a population.
What are genetic mutations?
Natural selection works on this within populations.
What is variation?
These two conditions are required for natural selection to take place in a population.
What are variation and environmental pressure?
If mutations stopped occurring, this would happen to variation in a population.
What is it would decrease or stop?
Without this, natural selection cannot lead to changes in a population.
What is genetic variation?