Darwin’s theory of natural selection: peppered moths

Many predators look for the prey using their eyes. Therefore, the prey species have a unique body colouration which camouflages with the environment. Camouflaging makes it difficult for the predators to spot the animals. The prey is safe from the predators whenever the latter fails to spot them as it means the predator will not eat them.  For example, a chameleon keeps on changing its colour to that of the environment thus hiding from predators like eagles. Also, the frogs and lizards are present on surfaces that have a similar colour to that of their bodies (Davis np). Secondly, some animals are brightly coloured but produce a toxic chemical which makes it poisonous for the predator consumption. The bright colour makes it easy for the predator to spot the prey and know it is poisonous. In some instances when the predator consumes the prey, the poison causes the predator to spit out the prey instead of swallowing. The colouration is present in insects, mites, and frogs (Davis np).

Relate environmental changes to changes in organisms

Ecological change makes an organism undergo adaptation to survive in the new environment. Adaptation refers to a change in the genetics or mutation in the animals which helps an organism survive better in the new environment. Mutation can either be harmful, beneficial or even neutral whereby the beneficial genetic mutation passes down to the offspring till when it becomes a characteristic of the organism. The adaptation can be structural whereby there is a change in the physical part of the organism. An example of structural adjustment is that of succulents adapting to a hot and dry climate through undergoing mutations that allowed them to store extra water to survive. Also, animals go through behavioural adaptation as a way of responding environmental change. Behavioural change involves a change in the way an organism behaves. An example of behavioural change is hibernation which allows animals unable to get enough food during winter to sleep while surviving on stored food. Hibernation, therefore, increases animals’ survival rate, and the adaptation technique continues to pass down to the offspring.

How natural selection causes populations change

Species evolve or change through time, therefore, creating new species. Every cell of an animal has several molecules that form the deoxyribonucleic acid while in the multicellular organism there are chromosomes. However, there are mutations, which can occur by accident or can be a result of outside influence. The organisms can also have an adaptive trait which helps an organism survive. Organisms with adaptive trait have an advantage over those lacking the characteristic in that they quickly acclimatize to the surroundings making their living easier and their reproduction more successful. Therefore with time, the species can compete against other species without the trait for food and habitat. Consequently, in the long run, the population of the species with adaptive trait increases while that of the other species declines (Ambler np). Moreover, some organisms have a maladaptive trait which unsettles a creature’s life. The feature can also reduce organism chances for survival thus interfering with an organism reproduction and transmits  its genes to theoffspring. For instance, a mutation which results to  infertility is unhealthy because it restricts  an organism’s reproductive capabilities. Therefore, in the long run, the species population declines or even becomes extinct due to unfavourable competition from superior species (Ambler np).

Works cited

Ambler, Marc. “Natural Selection Evolution – Creation.Com”. Creation.Com, 2018, https://creation.com/natural-selection-evolution. Accessed 21 May 2018.

Davis, Mark. “Mimicry, Camouflage, And Warning Coloration – Biology Encyclopedia – Body, Animal, Different, Used, Energy, Make, Common, First”. Biologyreference.Com, 2018, http://www.biologyreference.com/Ma-Mo/Mimicry-Camouflage-and-Warning-Coloration.html. Accessed 21 May 2018.