Succession And Natural Selection
Succession and Natural Selection
Primary succession is the change in species composition over time in a previously uninhabited environment. No soil exists when primary succession begins. Secondary succession is the change in species composition that takes place after some disturbance destroys the existing vegetation; soil is already present. The succession of the ecosystem in the Succession animation is secondary. The disturbance was the process of the beavers that dam a creek to create a pond so that they can build a lodge. Just to note there is soil already present in this animation.
Although most salamanders have four legs, the aquatic salamander shown below resembles an eel. It lacks hind limbs and has very tiny forelimbs. Propose a hypothesis to explain how limbless salamanders evolved according to Darwin's theory of natural selection.
I feel that adaptation is the cause of salamanders being limbless. Adaptation is an evolutionary modification that improves a species’ chance of survival and reproductive success in a given environment. Since the environment changes, the salamanders have to adapt according to their environment. Eventually the accumulation of adaptive modifications might result in a new species. We have to also think of evolution which occurs through the process of natural selection. Natural selection is when successful traits are passed on from generation to generation and traits that are not successful are not passed on. It also consists of four premises, overproduction, variation, limits on population growth, and differential reproductive success. In this case the limbs may not have been a successful trait for the salamanders.
Reference:
Berg, L. R., & Hager, M. C. (2007). Visualizing environmental science. Hoboken, NJ:
John Wiley & Sons.
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