15 Of The Best Documentaries On Free Evolution

What is Free Evolution?

Free evolution is the concept that natural processes can cause organisms to develop over time. This includes the emergence and development of new species.

Many examples have been given of this, including various varieties of fish called sticklebacks that can live in fresh or salt water and walking stick insect varieties that prefer particular host plants. These reversible traits, 에볼루션바카라사이트 however, cannot explain fundamental changes in basic body plans.

Evolution through Natural Selection

The development of the myriad living organisms on Earth is an enigma that has fascinated scientists for decades. Charles Darwin's natural selection is the most well-known explanation. This happens when people who are more well-adapted are able to reproduce faster and longer than those who are less well-adapted. Over time, the population of well-adapted individuals becomes larger and eventually develops into a new species.

Natural selection is a cyclical process that is characterized by the interaction of three elements that are inheritance, variation and reproduction. Sexual reproduction and mutation increase the genetic diversity of an animal species. Inheritance refers to the passing of a person's genetic traits to the offspring of that person, which includes both dominant and recessive alleles. Reproduction is the process of creating fertile, viable offspring. This can be done through sexual or asexual methods.

Natural selection is only possible when all the factors are in harmony. For example when an allele that is dominant at the gene can cause an organism to live and reproduce more frequently than the recessive allele, the dominant allele will be more prominent in the population. If the allele confers a negative survival advantage or 에볼루션바카라사이트 reduces the fertility of the population, it will be eliminated. The process is self reinforcing, which means that an organism with an adaptive trait will live and reproduce much more than one with a maladaptive characteristic. The more offspring that an organism has the more fit it is, which is measured by its capacity to reproduce itself and survive. People with good traits, 에볼루션 코리아 게이밍 (Discover More Here) like a longer neck in giraffes, or bright white color patterns in male peacocks, are more likely to be able to survive and create offspring, so they will become the majority of the population over time.

Natural selection is only an element in the population and not on individuals. This is a significant distinction from the Lamarckian theory of evolution which states that animals acquire traits by use or inactivity. For example, if a animal's neck is lengthened by stretching to reach for prey its offspring will inherit a longer neck. The difference in neck size between generations will continue to grow until the giraffe becomes unable to breed with other giraffes.

Evolution by Genetic Drift

In genetic drift, alleles at a gene may attain different frequencies in a group by chance events. In the end, one will attain fixation (become so widespread that it is unable to be removed through natural selection), while other alleles fall to lower frequency. This could lead to a dominant allele in the extreme. Other alleles have been virtually eliminated and heterozygosity been reduced to zero. In a small population this could result in the complete elimination of the recessive allele. This is known as the bottleneck effect and is typical of the evolutionary process that occurs whenever a large number individuals migrate to form a group.

A phenotypic bottleneck can also occur when the survivors of a catastrophe like an epidemic or mass hunting event, are concentrated into a small area. The surviving individuals will be largely homozygous for the dominant allele which means they will all have the same phenotype and consequently share the same fitness characteristics. This could be caused by conflict, earthquake, or even a plague. Regardless of the cause, the genetically distinct population that is left might be susceptible to genetic drift.

Walsh, Lewens and Ariew define drift as a departure from expected values due to differences in fitness. They cite a famous instance of twins who are genetically identical and have identical phenotypes, and yet one is struck by lightning and dies, whereas the other lives and reproduces.

This kind of drift can be vital to the evolution of the species. It's not the only method of evolution. The main alternative is a process known as natural selection, where the phenotypic variation of an individual is maintained through mutation and migration.

Stephens argues that there is a major difference between treating drift as a force or as an underlying cause, and considering other causes of evolution like mutation, selection and migration as causes or causes. Stephens claims that a causal mechanism account of drift permits us to differentiate it from these other forces, and that this distinction is vital. He also argues that drift has both a direction, i.e., it tends to eliminate heterozygosity. It also has a size which is determined by the size of the population.

Evolution through Lamarckism

Students of biology in high school are frequently exposed to Jean-Baptiste lamarck's (1744-1829) work. His theory of evolution, also called "Lamarckism, states that simple organisms develop into more complex organisms by adopting traits that result from an organism's use and disuse. Lamarckism is typically illustrated by an image of a giraffe that extends its neck to reach higher up in the trees. This would result in giraffes passing on their longer necks to their offspring, who would then grow even taller.

Lamarck was a French zoologist and, in his opening lecture for his course on invertebrate Zoology at the Museum of Natural History in Paris on the 17th of May in 1802, he introduced a groundbreaking concept that radically challenged the conventional wisdom about organic transformation. According to Lamarck, living things evolved from inanimate matter by a series of gradual steps. Lamarck wasn't the only one to make this claim however he was widely considered to be the first to give the subject a comprehensive and general treatment.

The predominant story is that Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection and Lamarckism fought in the 19th Century. Darwinism ultimately won which led to what biologists call the Modern Synthesis. This theory denies the possibility that acquired traits can be acquired through inheritance and instead argues that organisms evolve by the symbiosis of environmental factors, including natural selection.

Lamarck and his contemporaries endorsed the notion that acquired characters could be passed on to the next generation. However, this idea was never a key element of any of their theories on evolution. This is due to the fact that it was never scientifically tested.

It's been over 200 years since the birth of Lamarck and in the field of genomics there is a growing evidence base that supports the heritability acquired characteristics. This is also referred to as "neo Lamarckism", or more often epigenetic inheritance. It is a version of evolution that is as valid as the more well-known neo-Darwinian model.

Evolution by the process of adaptation

One of the most widespread misconceptions about evolution is that it is driven by a type of struggle for survival. This notion is not true and ignores other forces driving evolution. The struggle for existence is better described as a struggle to survive in a specific environment. This may include not just other organisms as well as the physical surroundings themselves.

Understanding the concept of adaptation is crucial to comprehend evolution. It refers to a specific feature that allows an organism to live and reproduce in its environment. It could be a physiological feature, such as feathers or fur, or a behavioral trait like moving to the shade during hot weather or coming out at night to avoid cold.

The ability of an organism to extract energy from its surroundings and interact with other organisms and their physical environments is essential to its survival. The organism must have the right genes for producing offspring and be able find sufficient food and resources. Moreover, the organism must be capable of reproducing itself at an optimal rate within its environment.

These factors, together with gene flow and mutations can cause a shift in the proportion of different alleles in the gene pool of a population. This shift in the frequency of alleles could lead to the development of new traits and eventually, new species as time passes.

A lot of the traits we admire in animals and plants are adaptations, for example, lungs or gills to extract oxygen from the air, fur or feathers for insulation long legs to run away from predators, and camouflage to hide. However, a complete understanding of adaptation requires paying attention to the distinction between the physiological and behavioral characteristics.

Physiological adaptations, such as thick fur or gills are physical traits, whereas behavioral adaptations, like the tendency to seek out companions or to move into the shade in hot weather, aren't. Additionally, it is important to note that a lack of forethought is not a reason to make something an adaptation. In fact, failure to consider the consequences of a choice can render it unadaptable even though it might appear sensible or even necessary.