What exactly is "natural selection"?

[Loudmouth]

"And of course, positive selection and the adaptations it causes are crucial aspects of evolution."--Eugene Koonin, "The Logic of Chance: The Nature and Origin of Biological Evolution",

https://books.google.com/books?id=f...ntcover#v=onepage&q=natural selection&f=false

 

[AV1611VET]

What exactly is "natural selection"?

A concept advertised on an infamous person's shirt, who demonstrated it to a group of innocent students by projecting them (in his mind) into a video game called Doom.

 

[TanithDaUnicorn]

Is it a force, a plan, a grand design?
Is it internal or external?
If internal how does it affect things external?
If external how does if affect things internal?
Can it be isolated and identified materially?
Where and when did it originate?
Does it have creative powers?
Is it still working today?
What does it have planned for us?

Two strong members of a species mate, those strong traits get passed on. species becomes stronger for the next generation. simplest form.

 

[sfs]

"[P]ositive selection is the principle that beneficial traits—those that make it more likely that their carriers will survive and reproduce—tend to become more frequent in populations over time."

 

[Dr GS Hurd]

Charles R. Darwin wrote 4 books that all reflected various ideas about natural selection. The first edition (1859) of, "The Origin of Species" did place the emphasis on the enhanced survival of individuals. What people ignore is that "enhanced fitness" meant better able to survive in a given environment compared to members of the same species. A bunny is not "stronger" than a lion. But, a bunny better camouflaged, or better at being quiet is more "fit." Darwin disliked the idea of "survival of the fittest" because it implied that the most violent within a species was the most "fit." In his book on domestic breeding he introduced "reproductive fitness" to correct this popular misunderstanding.

Darwin's 1871 book on human evolution, and sexual selection considered (surprise!) behavior as a part of natural selection, and emphasized the positive role of females in evolution. (Remember that this was still before even the discovery of chromosomes). Sexual selection also made the otherwise absurd behaviors of male Peacocks, or Bower Birds understandable.

Darwin's book on selection and domesticated plants and animals is obvious.

Darwin's book on the evolution of orchids really deserves more attention, and respect. In that book he predicted that there must be a moth that could pollinate an orchid with a 20 cm (~8 inch) neck. It was not discovered for over 50 years. The general term for this form of natural selection today is "co-evolution" or "mutualism."

Darwin always referred to these as "natural selection."