ASSIGN 1

Discuss the factors that affect animal population growth.

ASSIGN 2

1. a) Discuss influx of energy and matter interactions in the soils in community ecology

b) .Discuss population consequences of interactions with biotic environment.

Fitness

The phenotypes and genotypes favored by natural selection aren't necessarily just the ones that
survive best. Instead, they're the ones with the highest overall fitness. Fitness is a measure of
how well organisms survive and reproduce, with emphasis on "reproduce." It is defined as
the number of offspring that organisms with a particular genotype or phenotype leave behind,
on average, as compared to others in the population.

Survival is one important component of fitness. In order to leave any offspring at all in the next
generation, an organism has to reach reproductive age. Living for a longer period of time may
also allow an organisms to reproduce more separate times (e.g., with more mates or in multiple
years).

However, survival is not the only part of the fitness equation. Fitness also depends on the ability
to attract a mate and the number of offspring produced per mating. An organism that
survived for many years, but never successfully attracted a mate or had offspring, would have
very (zero) low fitness.

Fitness depends on the environment

Which traits are favored by natural selection (that is, which features make an organism more fit)
depends on the environment. For example, a brown rabbit might be more fit than a white rabbit
in a brownish, grassy landscape with sharp-eyed predators. However, in a light-colored
landscape (such as sand dunes), white rabbits might be better than brown rabbits at avoiding
predators. And if there weren't any predators, the two coat colors might be equally fit!
In many cases, a trait also involves tradeoffs. That is, it may have some positive and some
negative effects on fitness. For instance, a particular coat color might make a rabbit less visible
to predators, but also less attractive to potential mates. Since fitness is a function of both survival
and reproduction, whether the coat color is a net "win" will depend on the relative strengths of
the predation and the mate preference.

Adaptation

Evolutionary adaptation, or simply adaptation, is the adjustment of organisms to their

environment in order to improve their chances at survival in that environment.

Evolution

It is a process that results in changes in the genetic content of a population over time. There are
two general classes of evolutionary change: microevolution and macroevolution.
Microevolutionary processes are changes in allele frequencies in a population over time. Three
main mechanisms cause allele frequency change: natural selection, genetic drift, and gene
flow. Macroevolution, on the other hand, refers to change at or above the level of the species.

Allele- one of two or more versions of DNA sequence (a single base or a segment of bases)
at a given genomic location

Natural vs Artificial Selection

Natural selection is a process of adaptation by an organism to the changing environment by
bringing selective changes to its genotype or genetic composition.
 Natural selection is one of the four primary mechanisms of evolution, along with mutation,
genetic drift, and migration.
 Charles Darwin popularized the concept of natural selection during his studies on evolution.
 According to Darwin, natural selection is not an intentional process and is brought about by
changes in the environment and the genotype of organisms.
 According to the mechanism of natural selection, the changes in the genotype of an
organism that increase the chances of the organism to survive and procreate are preserved
and passed down to the new generation.
 The less advantageous changes, however, are lost as the number of generations increases.
 This process of natural selection leads to the establishment of new niches, possibly
resulting in speciation. Thus, natural selection is an essential mechanism of evolution.
  Natural selection might occur due to differences in survival, fertility, mating success,
or in other aspects of the life cycle.
 No matter how small these changes are, as long as they are heritable, they might result in
a natural selection over many generations.
 In this way, nature ‘selects’ organisms with particular beneficial traits resulting in
reproductive advantage, causing evolutionary change.
 The concept of fitness is crucial while discussing natural selection. Fitness of an animal
is not only defined by how long it survives, but also by its reproductive success.
 Thus, if an animal lives only half as long as the others, but has twice as many offsprings
surviving till adulthood, the animal is considered more fit and thus, will be ‘selected’ by
nature.
 Another mechanism that ensures natural selection is by competition where the more fit
individuals can compete with the less fit for food, shelter, and other resources.
 As a result of such competition, the fewer fit individuals die out, leaving the more fit ones
to survive and reproduce.
 Natural selection, however, is a prolonged process that takes many generations for the
effects to be seen.
 It occurs in a natural population, resulting in a large biological diversity which might be
random.
 The increase in diversity also causes an increase in heterozygous genotypes within a
species.
 Some examples of natural selection include the selection of long-necked giraffes and the
changes in the size and shape of beaks of birds according to their feeding habits.
Artificial selection definition
Artificial selection, also called selective breeding, is the process where humans identify
desirable traits in animals and plants and use these traits to develop desirable phenotypic
traits by breeding.
 Although the process of artificial selection uses the same mechanism as natural selection,
artificial selection is a controlled process caused by humans, whereas natural selection
occurs due to natural causes.
 The process of artificial selection is based on the studies done by Charles Darwin, where he
concluded how selective breeding facilitates desirable changes over a period of time.
 Unlike natural selection, artificial selection doesn’t result in evolution or speciation.
 Artificial selection is a comparatively faster process where the effects are seen over a few
generations.
 Domesticated animals and plants are often selected based on their desirable phenotypic
traits to produce crossbred plants and animals.
 This selection is made by the farmers to bring higher productivity and better quality.
 Artificial selection in animals begins with purebred animals with a single breed and
desirable traits, which are then bred with other purebred animals to develop and preserve
superior qualities.
 In animals, artificial selection is brought about by inbreeding, linebreeding, or
outcrossing.
 The hybrids formed after selective breeding tend to have a higher vigor, termed hybrid
vigor. However, sometimes, these breeding might also result in degradation of quality.
  A similar process is applied for plant breeding where wild plants are domesticated into
uniform and predictable agriculture.
 The same process is applied for plant breeding, where plants with houseful traits like
higher production are bred to preserve these traits and even develop superior traits.
 Selective plant breeding has been used for thousands of years for agricultural purposes;
nowadays, however, it is also used in research regarding transgenic plants that are
homozygous for various genes.
 Even though the process of artificial selection is controlled, sometimes it might occur
unintentionally during farming that might produce either desirable or undesirable effects.
 The advantages related to artificial breeding include higher productivity and healthier
offsprings, along with a more convenient and faster analysis of offsprings.
 There are, however, some disadvantages of artificial selection as it cannot be performed
on an entire population at once and also the processes need to be performed under lab
conditions or in a greenhouse.
 The artificial selection also decreases the genetic diversity in a population as most fit
species are bred with each other, increasing the homozygous genotypes.
 Some examples of artificial selection include dog breeding to produce new breeds of
dogs and cross-breeding in cash crops like wheat and rice.
Key Differences (Natural selection vs Artificial selection)

Basis for Comparison Natural selection Artificial selection

Artificial selection, also called

Natural selection is a process of
selective breeding, is the process
adaptation by an organism to the
where humans identify desirable traits
Definition changing environment by bringing
in animals and plants and use these
selective changes to its genotype or
traits to develop desirable phenotypic
genetic composition.
traits by breeding.

Natural selection is a natural Artificial selection is an artificial or

Process
process. human-made process.

Natural selection takes place in Artificial selection takes place in

Occurs in natural populations within natural domesticated populations put together
conditions. by humans.

The chances of survival of a fit The chance of survival of an organism

Chances of survival organism increase as a result of might be at risk if not performed
natural selection. correctly.
 Natural selection is a slow process
Rate that completes after many
generations.
Natural selection is not as controlled
Controlled by as artificial selection as natural
processes control it.
Natural selection might occur on all
Performed on
organisms living on the earth.
Natural selection is based on the
adaptive characteristics of animals.
Traits
Only beneficial or favorable traits
are inherited over the successive
generations by natural selection.
Natural selection affects the entire
Affects
population of a species.
Natural selection results in a large
Diversity
amount of biological diversity.
Natural selection facilitates
Evolution speciation and evolution over many
generations.
Natural selection exerts on a wide-
Scale
scale on the natural environment.
Hybrid vigor Hybrid vigor is seen in offsprings
after natural selection.
Artificial selection is a faster process
that completes within days or weeks
with more apparent effects.
Artificial selection can be more
controlled as humans control it.
Artificial selection can be selective and
can be performed on selected groups
of animals and plants.
Artificial selection is based on the
desirable characters selected by
humans.
Artificial selection only allows the
selected traits to be passed through
successive generations.
Artificial selection only affects the
selected individuals.
Artificial selection only brings
desirable changes and desirable traits
and brings a decrease in genetic
diversity.
Artificial selection doesn’t facilitate
evolution.
Artificial selection exerts only on
selected individuals that are
economically important.
Hybrid vigor is lost during artificial
selection due to the preservation of
 desired traits.

Natural selection is a natural

The artificial selection might be labor-
Effort process, so no human effort is
intensive and expensive.
required.

After natural selection, the After artificial selection, the proportion

Genotype proportion of heterozygous genotype of homozygous genotype becomes
becomes high. high.

Some examples of natural selection

Some examples of artificial selection
include the selection of long-necked
include dog breeding to produce new
Examples giraffes and the changes in the size
breeds of dogs and cross-breeding in
and shape of beaks of birds
cash crops like wheat and rice.
according to their feeding habits.

Types of selection
When it comes to natural selection, there are three different types of selection that can occur.
These types include the following:

1.Stabilizing Selection This type of natural selection occurs when there are selective pressures
working against two extremes of a trait and therefore the intermediate or “middle” trait is
selected for. If we look at a distribution of traits in the population, it is noticeable that a standard
distribution is followed:

Example: For a plant, the plants that are very tall are exposed to more wind and are at risk of
being blown over. The plants that are very short fail to get enough sunlight to prosper. Therefore,
the plants that are a middle height between the two get both enough sunlight and protection from
the wind.

2. Directional Selection

This type of natural selection occurs when selective pressures are working in favour of one
extreme of a trait. Therefore when looking at a distribution of traits in a population, a graph tends
to lean more to one side:
Example: Giraffes with the longest necks are able to reach more leaves to each. Selective
pressures will work in the advantage of the longer neck giraffes and therefore the distribution of
the trait within the population will shift towards the longer neck trait.

3. Disruptive Selection

This type of natural selection occurs when selective pressures are working in favour of the two
extremes and against the intermediate trait. This type of selection is not as common. When
looking at a trait distribution, there are two higher peaks on both ends with a minimum in the
middle as such

Example: An area that has black, white and grey bunnies contains both black and white rocks.
Both the traits for white and black will be favored by natural selection since they both prove
useful for camouflage. The intermediate trait of grey does not prove as useful and therefore
selective pressures act against the trait.