Through natural Selection, organisms with more advantageous qualities tend to live and reproduce at a higher rate than those with less domineering traits. This is the main way evolution happens, and it is what led to the incredibly diverse array of species we see today. Natural Selection, which may be seen in a wide variety of creatures, including humans, is driven by variation within a population and competition for resources (Santos-Lopez et al.1). The examples presented in this essay will focus on hominins and their evolution through natural Selection.
Examples of Biological Natural Selection
Every organism must develop a trait that enables them to outlast a specific period. “Survival of the fittest” is a common phrase used to describe natural Selection, which favors organisms with traits that are better adapted to their environment (Wells et al.1). Natural Selection is the cumulative result of evolutionary processes such as mutation and genetic drift over many generations. Natural Selection can be seen in the development of human lactose tolerance.
Adaptation can also be internal to help sustain specific specie in an environment. For instance, the capacity to absorb the milk sugar lactose without feeling gastrointestinal irritation is known as lactose tolerance (Wells et al. 2). For thousands of years, this quality gradually spread throughout the human population, reaching a level of prevalence in contemporary European, North American, and African societies (Wells et al. 2). It is thought that the domestication of dairy animals, which made milk a vital and conveniently accessible sustenance source, led to the genesis of the tolerant trait. The reason is that individuals who possessed the feature were superior to those who did not, and made became a lasting characteristic of the population.
The evolution of hominins’ ability to walk upright on two legs is another significant example of Natural Selection in action. Contemporary humans are distinguished by their ability to walk upright on two legs, a trait known as bipedalism (Young et al. 2). It is believed that environmental factors were the driving force behind its emergence in our hominid ancestors. The capacity of hominins to walk upright made it possible for them to investigate their surroundings and discover new food sources efficiently (Young et al. 2). Those individuals who could walk upright had a much-increased likelihood of surviving long enough to produce children and pass on their genes. The evolution of modern humans was made possible by the gradual adoption of bipedalism by an increasing number of hominins over time.
Another manifestation of natural Selection is the development of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms. Antibiotic resistance develops when bacteria undergo adaptive evolution to become resistant to the therapeutic actions of antibiotics (Santos-Lopez et al.1). Antibiotics kill off normal bacteria, leaving only antibiotic-resistant strains to thrive and spread (Santos-Lopez et al.1). The resistant germs eventually dominated the population as a whole enabling them to dominate that specific environment.
Relationship between Biological Survival in Humans and Natural Selection
Biological survival in humans exists due to the adamant need to avoid extinction. One strategy of human natural Selection is human lactose tolerance. The global population gained this characteristic to survive the famine since milk provided a source of nutrition (Young et al. 1). This factor indicates that the quest for survival pushed the humans to gain lactase persistence to ensure that they benefited from its contents and maintained their dominance as species.
Another biological evolution of humans is the ability to walk upright. Bipedalism is a natural selection that increases their existence, enhancing social status. The movement of the arms enables humans to survive, considering that the flexibility helps them make tools and stretch to reach out to distant objects such as fruits and other vegetation, enhancing survival (Santos-Lopez et al.1). This ability to use hands also improved communication, bringing a better survival mechanism considering that humans could share when damage arose, which enhanced their chances to live.
This survival mechanism in bacteria is due to the fact that antibiotic-resistant bacteria have evolved to be more successful in the presence of drugs intended to eliminate them. Adaptive evolution is contributed by mutation and Selection, which helps the bacteria to produce enzymes that denature the effects of the antibiotic (Wells et al. 2). This action demonstrates natural Selection, whereby the bacteria change or adapt to an unnatural environment to survive (Wells et al.1). The survival of bacteria in the presence of antibiotics indicates that the need for survival makes the organism adapt to its environment by developing resistance to destruction.
Conclusion
Natural selection is the process through which organisms’ traits and behaviors become more or less common in a species as time passes based on their fitness for survival and reproduction. This process is the primary mechanism of evolutionary change and is responsible for adapting species to changing environments. Human tolerance to lactose, bipedalism, and bacterial resistance to antibiotics are examples of the various natural selection strategies that have ensured different species maintain their balance in the ecosystem. The connection between natural Selection and biological factors is that an increase in one result in change or mutation in the affected specie to ensure that survival is maintained.
Works Cited
Santos-Lopez, Alfonso, et al. “The Roles of History, Chance, and Natural Selection in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance.” Elife, vol. 10, 2021, pp. 1-76. Web.
Wells, Jonathan, et al. “Evolution of Lactase Persistence: Turbo-Charging Adaptation In Growth Under The Selective Pressure Of Maternal Mortality?” Frontiers in Physiology, vol. 12, 2021, pp. 1-25. Web.
Young, Mariel, et al. “The Developmental Impacts of Natural Selection on Human Pelvic Morphology.” Science Advances, vol.8, no.33, 2022, p. 1. Web.