Natural Selection Vs. Survival of the Fittest

Hey dad! Why do we have so many types of dogs? What makes them so different from each other?

To answer your question, son, I'm going to explain Darwin's theory of Natural Selection

Charles Darwin was an anthropologist in the early to mid 1800's. He explained his theory of evolution and how species change over time in his theory of Natural Selection.

During his research of evolution, Darwin compared animal fossils to the living animals and found slight differences.

His theory suggests that in nature we compete to pass on genes. with every generation, there will be slight variations in the population. Think of chicks for example with three different variations: Awkward, Armor Sheild, and Long Bill. Awkward is less likely to pass on their genes because the gene makes it difficult to forrage and hunt. Armord sheild is also unlikely to pass on it's genes because it's sheild making it nearly impossible to breed. Long Bill is most likely to pass on it's genes due to it's ability to eat food it wouldn't have been able to with a regular bill. Bill allows the chick to mature and get stronger. The gene will keep passing on until the entire population has a long bill.

Is that why we have different dogs? How genes spread through generations?

Natural selection explains why and how species can change, but we have different dog breeds from "artificial selection", which means we select dog mates to combine their genes.

Darwin experimented with "artificial selection" with pigeons and created new species of pigeons himself. Human bread dogs together to specialize certain genes. Think of a Husky for example, they have thicker fur than a pug. This means they will do better in colder wether, but not so well in hot temperatures.

What about peacocks? Why are males green and blue and females grey and brown?

Great Question! Males are more colorful than the females because of "sexual selection"

There are two parts to this scenario. One is Male display and the second is female choice.

The bright feathers on male peacocks is to attract females. Females will be drawn and attracted to the male with the most extravagant appearance will have better chances of mating than those that do not.

Got it! "Natural Selection" leads to adaptations chosen for resourcefulness and survival. And "sexual selection" leads to adaptations responsible for breeding

Hey dad! Why do we have so many types of dogs? What makes them so different from each other?

To answer your question, son, I'm going to explain Darwin's theory of Natural Selection

Charles Darwin was an anthropologist in the early to mid 1800's. He explained his theory of evolution and how species change over time in his theory of Natural Selection.

During his research of evolution, Darwin compared animal fossils to the living animals and found slight differences.

His theory suggests that in nature we compete to pass on genes. with every generation, there will be slight variations in the population. Think of chicks for example with three different variations: Awkward, Armor Sheild, and Long Bill. Awkward is less likely to pass on their genes because the gene makes it difficult to forrage and hunt. Armord sheild is also unlikely to pass on it's genes because it's sheild making it nearly impossible to breed. Long Bill is most likely to pass on it's genes due to it's ability to eat food it wouldn't have been able to with a regular bill. Bill allows the chick to mature and get stronger. The gene will keep passing on until the entire population has a long bill.

Is that why we have different dogs? How genes spread through generations?

Natural selection explains why and how species can change, but we have different dog breeds from "artificial selection", which means we select dog mates to combine their genes.

Darwin experimented with "artificial selection" with pigeons and created new species of pigeons himself. Human bread dogs together to specialize certain genes. Think of a Husky for example, they have thicker fur than a pug. This means they will do better in colder wether, but not so well in hot temperatures.