Chapter 19: Natural Selection and Evolution

Evolution – It is a gradual change in the range of organisms where new species rise from the
existent species.

Natural selection – It is the mechanism by which new species arrive. Here, different forms of a
species in time become so different that they become a completely different species.

Species – It is a group of individuals that share common genes and can interbreed to produce
fertile offspring.

The biologists Darwin and Wallace both agreed that only the organisms which are best adapted
to their environment are more likely to survive. They ‘fit’ their environment better.

For instance, the peppered moth has two forms. They adapted themselves in different situations.
They camouflaged themselves and took the dark shape in cities to match with the dark sooty
trees so that they couldn’t be seen easily by predatory birds.

Animals with variation enabled them to survive even the toughest conditions. They compete for
food and eat better than other animals of their own species and so they survive and others die.
They reproduce, passing on their genes to the next generation and their numbers increase with
each generation. Sometimes, they even develop special organs or body parts for survival
(survival of the fittest).

Here we have two insects that demonstrate natural selection in a different way. Usually a
hoverfly is a brightly-coloured insect that look like bees or wasps, they are in fact true flies and
do not sting. Hoverflies are excellent examples of mimicry. They generally mimic bees and
wasps – insects that sting and also taste unpleasant, so are avoided by predators.
 Hoverfly Wasp

Antibiotics – Antibiotics are chemicals that are used to reduce growth of fungus and bacteria.
Since the discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin by Alexander Fleming, there have been
productions of numerous antibiotics by different companies. These antibiotics are now regularly
used even for simple problems. But their effects are unknown to us all. Frequent use of
antibiotics may cause resistance in the pests.

Some pests have adapted themselves so well that they cannot

be killed by pesticides. Their genes are mutated by chance and
produce resistance against the pesticides. When these
immuned pests reproduced, they gave birth to more immuned
pests and thus their numbers increased rapidly with each
generation.

Sickle cell anaemia – It is a disease caused by

mutant allele. It affects the formation of
haemoglobin in red blood cells. This makes the red
blood cells distorted. Heterozygous carriers of this
allele usually show no symptoms. , though 50% of
their blood is abnormal. The condition can be fatal in
case of homozygous carriers. Fortunately, the
heterozygous carriers are more resistant to malaria
than normal people. It is because when the malarial
parasite enters the fragile red blood cells, the cells
burst before the parasite could have time to develop
them.

Niche – A niche is the description of a habitat of an

organism and its role in that habitat.