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AP Bio (Natural Selection/Evolution)

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trulyjenny's picture
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AP Bio (Natural Selection/Evolution)

I'm having trouble explaining this question:

Explain why "editing" is better than "creating" as a metaphor for how natural selection acts on a population's heritable variation.

The text books says that "Darwin reasoned that individuals with inherited traits that are best suited to the local environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than less fit individuals. Over many generations, a higher and higher proportion of individuals in a population will have the advantageous traits. Evolution occurs as the unequal reproductive success of individuals adapts the population to its environment.

Darwin called this mechanism of evolutionary adaptation "natural selection" because the natural environment "selects" for the propagation of certain traits. The example in Figure 1.20 [The hungry birds usually eat the beetles that are lightest in color because they are easier to spot] illustrates the ability of natural selection to "edit" a population's heritable variations in color. We see the products of natural selection in the exquisite adaptations of various organisms to the special circumstances of their way of life and their environment."

I know the answer is there somewhere in the text I just typed up. But I'm having trouble putting it into words.

Thank you!

iconoclastic's picture
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To give you a simple answer, natural selection literally edits that particular species, by way of disposing of the less desirable traits in a species. It creates nothing.

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xenahorse's picture
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Adding on to iconoclastic's words, think of it like this: When you edit a paper, bits and pieces get removed and changed in various ways--a little here, a little there--versus writing, or "creating" the paper. Remember that evolution and adaption is a random process, and that creatures ill-adapted to their surroundings are "edited" out through the use of natural selection.


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Horsegirl1592's picture
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Bascially like what Xena and Icon said... The new species that are more fitted for their environment aren't just "created" their characteristics change gradually over time and are "edited," because of overproduction and competition.

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