What is Free Evolution?

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

This has been demonstrated by many examples such as the stickleback fish species that can thrive in fresh or saltwater and walking stick insect varieties that are apprehensive about particular host plants. These are mostly reversible traits, however, cannot explain fundamental changes in basic body plans.

Evolution through Natural Selection

The development of the myriad living organisms on Earth is a mystery that has intrigued scientists for centuries. Charles Darwin's natural selection theory is the best-established explanation. This is because individuals who are better-adapted have more success in reproduction and survival than those who are less well-adapted. Over time, the population of individuals who are well-adapted grows and eventually forms a new species.

Natural selection is a cyclical process that involves the interaction of three factors that are inheritance, variation and reproduction. Variation is caused by mutation and sexual reproduction both of which enhance the genetic diversity within an animal species. Inheritance is the passing of a person's genetic characteristics to the offspring of that person which includes both recessive and dominant alleles. Reproduction is the generation of fertile, viable offspring which includes both asexual and sexual methods.

All of these variables have to be in equilibrium for natural selection to occur. For example the case where an allele that is dominant at one gene can cause an organism to live and reproduce more often than the recessive one, the dominant allele will be more prominent within the population. However, if 무료 에볼루션 confers a disadvantage in survival or reduces fertility, it will be eliminated from the population. This process is self-reinforcing meaning that a species that has a beneficial trait can reproduce and survive longer than one with a maladaptive trait. The greater an organism's fitness, measured by its ability reproduce and endure, is the higher number of offspring it produces. People with good characteristics, such as a long neck in the giraffe, or bright white patterns on male peacocks are more likely than others to live and reproduce and eventually lead to them becoming the majority.

Natural selection is only an element in the population and not on individuals. This is a significant distinction from the Lamarckian theory of evolution which argues that animals acquire characteristics through use or disuse. If a giraffe stretches its neck to catch prey, and the neck becomes longer, then the children will inherit this characteristic. The differences in neck size between generations will continue to grow until the giraffe becomes unable to breed with other giraffes.

Evolution through Genetic Drift

Genetic drift occurs when the alleles of the same gene are randomly distributed in a group. At some point, one will attain fixation (become so widespread that it can no longer be removed by natural selection), while other alleles will fall to lower frequencies. In extreme cases this, it leads to one allele dominance. Other alleles have been basically eliminated and heterozygosity has been reduced to a minimum. In a small population it could lead to the complete elimination of recessive allele. This scenario is called a bottleneck effect, and it is typical of the kind of evolutionary process when a large amount of people migrate to form a new group.

A phenotypic bottleneck could occur when the survivors of a disaster like an epidemic or a massive hunt, are confined within a narrow area. The survivors are likely to be homozygous for the dominant allele, which means they will all have the same phenotype and will therefore share the same fitness characteristics. This can be caused by war, earthquakes, or even plagues. The genetically distinct population, if it is left susceptible to genetic drift.

Walsh Lewens, Walsh and Ariew define drift as a deviation from the expected values due to differences in fitness. They give the famous example of twins who are both genetically identical and have exactly the same phenotype. However, one is struck by lightning and dies, but the other is able to reproduce.


This kind of drift could play a crucial part in the evolution of an organism. However, it's not the only method to progress. The most common alternative is a process called natural selection, where the phenotypic variation of an individual is maintained through mutation and migration.

Stephens argues that there is a major difference between treating the phenomenon of drift as a force, or a cause and treating other causes of evolution, such as mutation, selection and migration as forces or causes. He claims that a causal process explanation of drift permits us to differentiate it from these other forces, and this distinction is essential. He further argues that drift is both direction, i.e., it tends towards eliminating heterozygosity. It also has a size, which is determined by the size of the population.

Evolution by Lamarckism

Students of biology in high school are often exposed to Jean-Baptiste lamarck's (1744-1829) work. His theory of evolution is commonly known as "Lamarckism" and it states that simple organisms grow into more complex organisms by the inheritance of traits which result from the organism's natural actions use and misuse. Lamarckism is typically illustrated with a picture of a giraffe stretching its neck longer to reach the higher branches in the trees. This could cause the longer necks of giraffes to be passed to their offspring, who would grow taller.

Lamarck the French zoologist, presented an idea that was revolutionary in his opening lecture at the Museum of Natural History of Paris. He challenged the conventional wisdom on organic transformation. In his opinion living things had evolved from inanimate matter through an escalating series of steps. Lamarck was not the first to suggest that this might be the case, but his reputation is widely regarded as being the one who gave the subject his first comprehensive and comprehensive treatment.

The most popular story is that Lamarckism became a rival to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection and that the two theories fought each other in the 19th century. Darwinism eventually prevailed and led to the creation of what biologists now call the Modern Synthesis. The Modern Synthesis theory denies that traits acquired through evolution can be inherited, and instead suggests that organisms evolve through the action of environmental factors, like natural selection.

Lamarck and his contemporaries supported the notion that acquired characters could be passed down to the next generation. However, this concept was never a major part of any of their theories on 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 large body of evidence supporting the heritability of acquired traits. This is also known as "neo Lamarckism", or more commonly epigenetic inheritance. It is a variant of evolution that is as relevant as the more popular Neo-Darwinian theory.

Evolution by Adaptation

One of the most common misconceptions about evolution is that it is being driven by a struggle for survival. In reality, this notion is inaccurate and overlooks the other forces that are driving evolution. The fight for survival can be better described as a fight to survive in a particular environment. This could be a challenge for not just other living things but also the physical environment.

Understanding the concept of adaptation is crucial to comprehend evolution. Adaptation refers to any particular 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 the shade in hot weather or coming out at night to avoid cold.

The ability of a living thing to extract energy from its environment and interact with other organisms as well as their physical environment is essential to its survival. The organism needs to have the right genes to generate offspring, and it should be able to access sufficient food and other resources. The organism must be able to reproduce itself at a rate that is optimal for its specific niche.

These elements, in conjunction with gene flow and mutation result in changes in the ratio of alleles (different varieties of a particular gene) in the gene pool of a population. As time passes, this shift in allele frequency can result in the development of new traits and ultimately new species.

Many of the characteristics we appreciate in animals and plants are adaptations. For instance the lungs or gills which draw oxygen from air feathers and fur for insulation long legs to run away from predators and camouflage to conceal. To comprehend adaptation it is crucial to discern between physiological and behavioral traits.

Physiological traits like thick fur and gills are physical traits. Behavior adaptations aren't like the tendency of animals to seek out companionship or to retreat into the shade in hot temperatures. It is important to remember that a the absence of planning doesn't cause an adaptation. Failure to consider the implications of a choice even if it seems to be logical, can make it inflexible.