In three to five sentences, construct an argument for the claim that natural selection leads to evolution. Provide evidence for this claim, and be sure to explain how an organism shows the four parts of the process of natural selection. You may use any organism with the exception of bacteria and antibiotic resistance.

Answer 1

The process of natural selection can be observed in various organisms, such as finches on the Galapagos Islands. These finches exhibit variation in beak size and shape based on the type of food available on their respective islands. The first part of natural selection is the presence of variation within a population, which is evident in the different beak sizes of the finches. The second part, heritability, is demonstrated as the offspring of these finches inherit their parents' traits, including beak size. The third part, differential reproduction, is seen as finches with beak shapes better suited to their food source have higher survival and reproductive success. This leads to the fourth part of natural selection, adaptation, where over time the population of finches evolves with individuals possessing advantageous traits for their environment. Thus, natural selection is a driving force behind evolution in organisms.