15 Best Documentaries About Free Evolution

What is Free Evolution?

Free evolution is the notion that natural processes can lead to the development of organisms over time. This includes the evolution of new species as well as the transformation of the appearance of existing ones.

This is evident in numerous examples such as the stickleback fish species that can live in salt or fresh water, and walking stick insect species that have a preference for specific host plants. These mostly reversible trait permutations however, are not able to explain fundamental changes in body plans.

Evolution through Natural Selection

The evolution of the myriad living organisms on Earth is an enigma that has intrigued scientists for decades. Charles Darwin's natural selectivity is the best-established explanation. This process occurs when those who are better adapted survive and reproduce more than those who are less well-adapted. As time passes, the number of well-adapted individuals becomes larger and eventually develops into a new species.

Natural selection is an ongoing 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 transmission of a person's genetic traits, which include recessive and dominant genes to their offspring. Reproduction is the generation of viable, fertile offspring, which includes both sexual and asexual methods.

Natural selection is only possible when all of these factors are in harmony. If, for instance the dominant gene allele makes an organism reproduce and last longer than the recessive allele The dominant allele will become more prevalent in a population. But if the allele confers an unfavorable survival advantage or reduces fertility, it will be eliminated from the population. The process is self reinforcing meaning that an organism that has an adaptive trait will live and 에볼루션 바카라사이트 reproduce much more than those with a maladaptive feature. The more offspring an organism can produce the better its fitness, which is measured by its capacity to reproduce and survive. Individuals with favorable characteristics, like longer necks in giraffes or bright white color patterns in male peacocks are more likely survive and produce 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 major distinction from the Lamarckian theory of evolution, 에볼루션게이밍 (Botdb.Win) which states that animals acquire traits through usage or inaction. For instance, if a Giraffe's neck grows longer due to stretching to reach prey, 에볼루션 블랙잭사이트 - visit the up coming site, its offspring will inherit a more long neck. The differences in neck size between generations will continue to increase until the giraffe is unable to reproduce with other giraffes.

Evolution by Genetic Drift

Genetic drift occurs when alleles from one gene are distributed randomly within a population. In the end, one will reach fixation (become so widespread that it can no longer be removed by natural selection) and other alleles will fall to lower frequencies. In the extreme this, it leads to one allele dominance. The other alleles are essentially eliminated, and heterozygosity falls to zero. In a small number of people it could result in the complete elimination of the recessive gene. This scenario is called a bottleneck effect, and it is typical of the kind of evolutionary process that takes place when a large number of people migrate to form a new population.

A phenotypic 'bottleneck' can also occur when survivors of a disaster such as an outbreak or mass hunting incident are concentrated in an area of a limited size. The survivors will share a dominant allele and thus will have the same phenotype. This may be the result of a conflict, earthquake or even a cholera outbreak. Whatever the reason the genetically distinct population that is left might be susceptible to genetic drift.

Walsh, Lewens and Ariew define drift as a departure from the expected value due to differences in fitness. They give the famous example of twins who are genetically identical and have exactly the same phenotype, but one is struck by lightning and dies, but the other continues to reproduce.

This type of drift is crucial in the evolution of an entire species. However, it is not the only method to progress. The most common alternative is a process called natural selection, in which phenotypic variation in the population is maintained through mutation and migration.

Stephens asserts that there is a vast distinction between treating drift as a force or cause, and treating other causes such as selection mutation and migration as forces and causes. Stephens claims that a causal process model of drift allows us to differentiate it from other forces, and this distinction is crucial. He further argues that drift has a direction: that is, it tends to eliminate heterozygosity, 에볼루션바카라사이트 and that it also has a size, that is determined by the size of the population.

Evolution by Lamarckism

In high school, students study biology, they are often introduced to the work of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744 - 1829). His theory of evolution, also referred to as "Lamarckism, states that simple organisms transform into more complex organisms through adopting traits that are a product of an organism's use and disuse. Lamarckism is typically illustrated with the image of a giraffe extending its neck longer to reach leaves higher up in the trees. This could cause the necks of giraffes that are longer to be passed on to their offspring who would grow taller.

Lamarck, a French zoologist, presented an idea that was revolutionary in his opening lecture at the Museum of Natural History of Paris. He challenged previous thinking on organic transformation. In his view living things evolved from inanimate matter through a series of gradual steps. Lamarck was not the only one to suggest that this might be the case, but he is widely seen as giving the subject its first broad and comprehensive treatment.

The popular narrative is that Lamarckism became a rival to Charles Darwin's theory of evolutionary natural selection and that the two theories battled it out in the 19th century. Darwinism eventually won and led to the creation of what biologists today call the Modern Synthesis. This theory denies acquired characteristics can be passed down and instead argues organisms evolve by the influence of environment factors, including Natural Selection.

Although Lamarck endorsed the idea of inheritance through acquired characters, and his contemporaries also offered a few words about this idea however, it was not an integral part of any of their evolutionary theories. This is due to the fact that it was never scientifically tested.

It's been more than 200 years since Lamarck was born and in the age of genomics there is a huge amount of evidence that supports the heritability of acquired characteristics. It is sometimes referred to as "neo-Lamarckism" or, more commonly epigenetic inheritance. This is a model that is as valid as the popular neodarwinian model.

Evolution through the process of adaptation

One of the most common misconceptions about evolution is that it is driven by a type of struggle for survival. This notion is not true and overlooks other forces that drive evolution. The struggle for existence is better described as a struggle to survive in a specific environment. This may include not only other organisms, but also the physical surroundings themselves.

To understand how evolution functions, it is helpful to think about what adaptation is. Adaptation is any feature that allows a living organism to live in its environment and reproduce. It could be a physical feature, such as feathers or fur. It could also be a characteristic of behavior, like moving towards shade during hot weather or moving out to avoid the cold at night.

The capacity of an organism to extract energy from its surroundings and interact with other organisms as well as their physical environment, is crucial to its survival. The organism must have the right genes for producing offspring and to be able to access sufficient food and resources. In addition, the organism should be able to reproduce itself in a way that is optimally within its environment.

These elements, in conjunction with gene flow and mutation result in changes in the ratio of alleles (different forms of a gene) in the population's gene pool. This shift in the frequency of alleles could lead to the development of novel traits and eventually, new species as time passes.

Many of the features we admire in plants and animals are adaptations. For example, lungs or gills that extract oxygen from the air feathers and fur for insulation, long legs to run away from predators and camouflage for hiding. To comprehend adaptation, it is important to distinguish between behavioral and physiological traits.

Physiological adaptations like thick fur or gills, are physical characteristics, whereas behavioral adaptations, such as the tendency to search for companions or to move to the shade during hot weather, aren't. It is important to keep in mind that lack of planning does not make an adaptation. Failure to consider the consequences of a decision, even if it appears to be logical, can make it unadaptive.