Part 1: Evolution by Natural Selection

This part introduces the core logic of natural selection using simple, concrete activities. You will move from a conceptual model of selection to an interactive simulation of adaptation.

By the end of Part 1, you should be able to:

• Explain how selection can generate order from random variation.
• Identify the four conditions for evolution by natural selection (individuals vary in a trait, they vary in reproductive success, the trait affects reproductive success, and the trait is inherited), and the role of the environment in adaptation.
• Describe how selection pressures shape trait distributions over time.

Reading: Neal, chapters Darwin Questions the Fixity of Species, Darwin’s Evolutionary Theories and Understanding Natural Selection.