Introduction to evolution: Difference between revisions

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{{Introductory article|Evolution}}

{{EngvarB|date=June 2019}}

[[File:Age-of-Man-wiki.jpg|thumb|250px|The "Paleontological Tree of the Vertebrates," from the 5th edition of ''The Evolution of Manifesting Man'' (London, 1910) by [[Ernst Haeckel]]. The evolutionary history of [[species]] has been described as a [[phylogenetic tree|tree]], with many branches arising from a single trunk.]]

{{Evolutionary biology}}

In [[biology]], '''evolution''' is the process of change in all forms of [[life]] over generations, and [[evolutionary biology]] is the study of how [[evolution]] occurs. Biological [[population]]s evolve through [[genetics|genetic]] changes that correspond to changes in the [[organism]]s' [[phenotypic trait|observable traits]]. Genetic changes include [[mutations]], which are caused by damage or replication errors in organisms' [[DNA]]. As the [[genetic variation]] of a population [[genetic drift|drifts]] randomly over generations, [[natural selection]] gradually leads traits to become more or less common based on the relative [[reproductive success]] of organisms with those traits.