biodiversity and evolution

Question 1

define evolution and explain how it contributes to changes in allele frequency over time

Answer 1

Evolution is how living organisms change over time through the inheritance of genetic variations. It is the mechanism that explains how life on Earth has adapted to different environments.

Natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow are the mechanisms that cause changes in allele frequencies over time.

Question 2

describe how variation within a population is essential for evolution. Include the sources of variation

Answer 2

helps the individual survive and reproduce, the genetic variation is more likely to be passed to the next generation (a process known as natural selection).

Sources of variation
Mutations, the changes in the sequences of genes in DNA, are one source of genetic variation. Another source is gene flow, or the movement of genes between different groups of organisms.

Question 3

explain why populations rather than individuals evolve over time

Answer 3

A single individual cannot evolve alone; evolution is the process of changing the gene frequencies within a gene pool.

Mutation, gene flow, genetic drift.

Question 4

discuss the relationship between biodiversity and evolution

Answer 4

Biodiversity and evolution are related by the number of species found on Earth and the genetic variation found within a species.