Introduction to evolution: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 00:57, 28 January 2008

Revision as of 00:58, 28 January 2008

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Darwin drew much of his support for natural selection from observing the outcomes of artificial selection.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Wilner A. |title=Darwin's artificial selection as an experiment.|journal=Stud Hist Philos Biol Biomed Sci.|volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=26&ndash;40|year=2006 |pmid=16473266 |accessdate=2008-01-24 }}</ref> Much of his book ''[[On the Origin of Species]]'' was based on his

observations of the diversity in domestic pigeons arising from artificial selection. Darwin proposed that if dramatic changes in domestic plants and animals could be achieved by humans in short periods, then natural selection, given millions of years, could produce the differences between living things today. In natural selection, the environment 'chooses' the surviving species. In artificial selection, the human breeder or farmer chooses the surviving breed or variety. In both natural and artificial selection, the variations are a result of random mutations, the underlying genetic processes are essentially the same, and survival is non-random."<ref name= PBS/>

==Summary==