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10 Top Books On Free Evolution
What is Free Evolution?

Free evolution is the notion that natural processes can cause organisms to develop over time. This includes the development of new species as well as the change in appearance of existing species.

This has been proven by numerous examples of stickleback fish species that can be found in saltwater or fresh water and walking stick insect species that are apprehensive about particular host plants. These typically reversible traits are not able to explain fundamental changes to basic body plans.

Evolution through Natural Selection

The development of the myriad living creatures on Earth is an enigma that has intrigued scientists for many centuries. The best-established explanation is Charles Darwin's natural selection process, which occurs when better-adapted individuals survive and reproduce more effectively than those that are less well-adapted. As time passes, a group of well-adapted individuals expands and eventually becomes a new species.

Natural selection is a cyclical process that is characterized by the interaction of three factors: variation, inheritance and reproduction. Variation is caused by mutations and sexual reproduction both of which increase the genetic diversity within a species. Inheritance refers the transmission of a person's genetic traits, including recessive and dominant genes, to their offspring. Reproduction is the process of producing viable, fertile offspring. This can be done by both asexual or sexual methods.

무료 에볼루션 of these factors have to be in equilibrium for natural selection to occur. For example, if a dominant allele at one gene causes an organism to survive and reproduce more often than the recessive allele, the dominant allele will be more common in the population. But if the allele confers an unfavorable survival advantage or decreases fertility, it will disappear from the population. The process is self-reinforcing, which means that an organism that has a beneficial trait is more likely to survive and reproduce than one with an inadaptive trait. The higher the level of fitness an organism has, measured by its ability reproduce and survive, is the greater number of offspring it produces. Individuals with favorable traits, like having a long neck in giraffes, or bright white color patterns on male peacocks are more likely than others to reproduce and survive which eventually leads to them becoming the majority.

Natural selection is an element in the population and not on individuals. This is an important distinction from the Lamarckian theory of evolution which states that animals acquire traits through use or neglect. For instance, if a giraffe's neck gets longer through reaching out to catch prey and its offspring will inherit a longer neck. The differences in neck length between generations will persist until the giraffe's neck becomes too long that it can not breed with other giraffes.

Evolution by Genetic Drift

Genetic drift occurs when the alleles of one gene are distributed randomly in a population. At some point, only one of them will be fixed (become common enough to no more be eliminated through natural selection) and the other alleles decrease in frequency. In extreme cases this, it leads to a single allele dominance. The other alleles are eliminated, and heterozygosity falls to zero. In a small population it could result in the complete elimination of recessive gene. Such a scenario would be known as a bottleneck effect and it is typical of evolutionary process that takes place when a large number of individuals migrate to form a new population.

A phenotypic 'bottleneck' can also occur when the survivors of a disaster such as an outbreak or mass hunt incident are concentrated in a small area. The survivors will have an dominant allele, and will share the same phenotype. This could be the result of a war, an earthquake or even a cholera outbreak. The genetically distinct population, if it is left susceptible to genetic drift.


Walsh, Lewens, and Ariew utilize Lewens, Walsh, and Ariew use a "purely outcome-oriented" definition of drift as any departure from expected values for different fitness levels. They cite the famous example of twins that are genetically identical and share the same phenotype. However, one is struck by lightning and dies, but the other lives to reproduce.

This kind of drift could be vital to the evolution of an entire species. This isn't the only method of evolution. Natural selection is the main alternative, in which mutations and migration maintain the phenotypic diversity in a population.

Stephens asserts that there is a significant distinction between treating drift as a force or a cause and treating other causes of evolution like selection, mutation and migration as forces or causes. He argues that a causal mechanism account of drift allows us to distinguish it from other forces, and that this distinction is vital. He further argues that drift is a directional force: that is it tends to eliminate heterozygosity. He also claims that it also has a specific magnitude that is determined by the size of the population.

Evolution through Lamarckism

In high school, students take biology classes, they are frequently introduced to the work of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744 - 1829). His theory of evolution, often called "Lamarckism is based on the idea that simple organisms transform into more complex organisms through inheriting characteristics that are a product of the organism's use and misuse. Lamarckism can be demonstrated by a giraffe extending its neck to reach higher leaves in the trees. This could cause the necks of giraffes that are longer to be passed on to their offspring who would then become taller.

Lamarck, a French Zoologist, introduced a revolutionary concept in his 17 May 1802 opening lecture at the Museum of Natural History of Paris. He challenged previous thinking on organic transformation. According Lamarck, living organisms evolved from inanimate materials by a series of gradual steps. Lamarck wasn't the only one to propose this however he was widely regarded as the first to give the subject a comprehensive and general treatment.

The popular narrative is that Lamarckism was an opponent to Charles Darwin's theory of evolutionary natural selection, and both theories battled each other in the 19th century. Darwinism eventually prevailed and led to the development of what biologists call the Modern Synthesis. This theory denies that traits acquired through evolution can be acquired through inheritance and instead argues that organisms evolve through the selective action of environmental factors, such as natural selection.

Lamarck and his contemporaries believed in the notion that acquired characters could be passed on to future generations. However, this concept was never a major part of any of their theories about evolution. This is due to the fact that it was never scientifically tested.

It's been more than 200 years since Lamarck was born and in the age genomics there is a huge amount of evidence to support the heritability of acquired traits. This is also referred to as "neo Lamarckism", or more commonly epigenetic inheritance. It is a version of evolution that is just as valid as the more well-known Neo-Darwinian theory.

Evolution by Adaptation

One of the most popular misconceptions about evolution is that it is driven by a sort of struggle to survive. This view is inaccurate and ignores other forces driving evolution. The struggle for survival is more effectively described as a struggle to survive within a particular environment, which may include not just other organisms, but also the physical environment.

Understanding the concept of adaptation is crucial to comprehend evolution. Adaptation is any feature that allows a living organism to survive in its environment and reproduce. It can be a physical structure, such as feathers or fur. Or it can be a behavior trait that allows you to move towards shade during hot weather, or moving out to avoid the cold at night.

The ability of an organism to extract energy from its environment and interact with other organisms as well as their physical environment is essential to its survival. The organism must have the right genes to generate offspring, and it must be able to access sufficient food and other resources. The organism should also be able to reproduce at the rate that is suitable for its niche.

These factors, together with mutations and gene flow can cause a shift in the proportion of different alleles within the population's gene pool. The change in frequency of alleles could lead to the development of novel traits and eventually new species over time.

Many of the features we admire in animals and plants are adaptations. For example, lungs or gills that draw oxygen from air feathers and fur as insulation, long legs to run away from predators and camouflage for hiding. However, a complete understanding of adaptation requires a keen eye to the distinction between behavioral and physiological characteristics.

Physiological adaptations like the thick fur or gills are physical characteristics, whereas behavioral adaptations, like the tendency to seek out companions or to move to shade in hot weather, are not. It is also important to note that insufficient planning does not result in an adaptation. Failure to consider the consequences of a decision even if it appears to be rational, could make it unadaptive.

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