Mechanisms of Evolution

Three of the four major mechanisms of evolution, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow are examined. There are 5 tenets of natural selection that influence individual organisms: Individuals within populations are variable, that variation is heritable, organisms differ in their ability to survive and reproduce, more individuals are produced in a generation than can survive, and survival & reproduction of those variable individuals are non-random. Organisms respond evolutionarily to changes in their environment and other selection pressures, including global climate change. The importance of spatial structure of a population in relation to how it affects the strength of gene flow and/or genetic drift, as well as the genetic variation and evolution of populations, is shown. Gene flow tends to reduce variation between populations and increase it within populations, whereas genetic drift tends to reduce genetic variation, especially in small, isolated populations. The mechanisms of evolution can lead to speciation, which requires both time and genetic isolation of populations, in addition to natural selection or genetic drift.