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What is Free Evolution?

Free evolution is the notion that the natural processes of living organisms can lead to their development over time. This includes the emergence and development of new species.

Many examples have been given of this, such as different varieties of fish called sticklebacks that can live in either salt or fresh water, and walking stick insect varieties that are attracted to particular host plants. These mostly reversible trait permutations can't, however, explain fundamental changes in body plans.

Evolution by Natural Selection


Scientists have been fascinated by the evolution of all living creatures that inhabit our planet for many centuries. The most well-known explanation is Charles Darwin's natural selection process, which occurs when better-adapted individuals survive and reproduce more successfully than those who are less well-adapted. Over time, a population of well-adapted individuals increases and eventually creates a new species.

Natural selection is a cyclical process that involves the interaction of three factors: variation, inheritance and reproduction. Mutation and sexual reproduction increase genetic diversity in an animal species. Inheritance refers the transmission of genetic traits, which include both dominant and recessive genes and their offspring. Reproduction is the process of producing fertile, viable offspring. This can be achieved through sexual or asexual methods.

All of these variables must be in balance for natural selection to occur. If, for instance, a dominant gene allele makes an organism reproduce and live longer than the recessive gene allele then the dominant allele will become more prevalent in a group. If the allele confers a negative advantage to survival or lowers the fertility of the population, it will go away. The process is self-reinforcing meaning that an organism with an adaptive characteristic will live and reproduce more quickly than those with a maladaptive feature. The more offspring that an organism has the better its fitness which is measured by its capacity to reproduce itself and survive. People with desirable characteristics, such as having a long neck in Giraffes, or the bright white patterns on male peacocks are more likely to others to reproduce and survive, which will eventually lead to them becoming the majority.

Natural selection is an aspect of populations and not on individuals. This is a significant distinction from the Lamarckian evolution theory which holds that animals acquire traits due to use or lack of use. For talks about it , if a Giraffe's neck grows longer due to stretching to reach prey and its offspring will inherit a more long neck. The difference in neck size between generations will continue to grow until the giraffe becomes unable to reproduce with other giraffes.

Evolution by Genetic Drift

In genetic drift, alleles at a gene may be at different frequencies in a group through random events. At some point, only one of them will be fixed (become common enough that it can no longer be eliminated through natural selection), and the other alleles will drop in frequency. This can lead to an allele that is dominant in extreme. The other alleles have been virtually eliminated and heterozygosity decreased to zero. In a small population it could result in the complete elimination of recessive gene. This scenario is called the bottleneck effect. It is typical of the evolutionary process that occurs whenever the number of individuals migrate to form a group.

A phenotypic bottleneck could occur when the survivors of a catastrophe, such as an epidemic or a mass hunting event, are condensed in a limited area. The survivors will carry a dominant allele and thus will have the same phenotype. This situation might be caused by war, earthquake or even a cholera outbreak. Whatever the reason the genetically distinct group that is left might be prone to genetic drift.

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

This kind of drift can be crucial in the evolution of an entire species. However, it's not the only method to evolve. The most common alternative is a process called natural selection, where the phenotypic variation of a population is maintained by mutation and migration.

Stephens asserts that there is a significant difference between treating drift like an actual cause or force, and considering other causes, such as migration and selection mutation as causes and forces. Stephens claims that a causal process explanation of drift allows us to distinguish it from other forces, and this distinction is crucial. He argues further that drift is both an orientation, i.e., it tends to eliminate heterozygosity. It also has a size which is determined based on population size.

Evolution through Lamarckism

Biology students in high school are frequently introduced to Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's (1744-1829) work. His theory of evolution, commonly referred to as "Lamarckism, states that simple organisms evolve into more complex organisms through taking on traits that result from the organism's use and misuse. Lamarckism can be demonstrated by an giraffe's neck stretching to reach higher leaves in the trees. This process would cause giraffes to pass on their longer necks to offspring, who then get taller.

Lamarck Lamarck, a French Zoologist, introduced an idea that was revolutionary in his opening lecture at the Museum of Natural History of Paris. He challenged conventional wisdom on organic transformation. According to Lamarck, living creatures evolved from inanimate material by a series of gradual steps. Lamarck wasn't the only one to suggest this, but he was widely regarded as the first to provide the subject a comprehensive and general treatment.

The most popular story is that Lamarckism was an opponent to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection, and both theories battled out in the 19th century. Darwinism eventually won and led to the creation of what biologists today refer to as the Modern Synthesis. This theory denies acquired characteristics can be passed down and instead argues that organisms evolve through the selective action of environment factors, including Natural Selection.

Lamarck and his contemporaries supported 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 validated.

But it is now more than 200 years since Lamarck was born and, in the age of genomics there is a vast amount of evidence that supports the possibility of inheritance of acquired traits. This is also referred to as "neo Lamarckism", or more commonly epigenetic inheritance. It is a version of evolution that is as relevant as the more popular Neo-Darwinian theory.

Evolution through Adaptation

One of the most common misconceptions about evolution is that it is driven by a sort of struggle for survival. This view is inaccurate and overlooks the other forces that determine the rate of evolution. The fight for survival is better described as a struggle to survive in a certain environment. This can be a challenge for not just other living things but also the physical environment.

Understanding the concept of adaptation is crucial to understand evolution. It refers to a specific feature that allows an organism to live and reproduce in its environment. It could be a physiological structure, such as fur or feathers, or a behavioral trait such as a tendency to move into shade in the heat or leaving at night to avoid the cold.

An organism's survival depends on its ability to extract energy from the environment and interact with other organisms and their physical environments. The organism should possess the right genes for producing offspring and be able find sufficient food and resources. The organism should also be able reproduce itself at a rate that is optimal for its particular niche.

These factors, together with mutations and gene flow can result in changes in the proportion of different alleles within the population's gene pool. As time passes, this shift in allele frequency can lead to the emergence of new traits and ultimately new species.

Many of the characteristics we find appealing in animals and plants are adaptations. For instance the lungs or gills which draw oxygen from air feathers and fur as insulation and long legs to get away from predators, and camouflage to hide. To comprehend adaptation it is essential to distinguish between behavioral and physiological traits.

Physiological adaptations like thick fur or gills, are physical traits, whereas behavioral adaptations, such as the tendency to seek out friends or to move into the shade in hot weather, aren't. It is also important to remember that a the absence of planning doesn't result in an adaptation. In fact, failure to think about the consequences of a decision can render it ineffective even though it might appear logical or even necessary.

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