How can natural selection lead to evolution

How does natural selection lead to evolution? Answered by Michelle M. Need help with Biology? One to one online tuition can be a great way to brush up on your Biology knowledge. Answered by Dominic V. Answered by Danika M. Answered by Simran H. Payment Security. Before the industrial revolution in Britain, in the early s, most peppered moths were of the pale variety. This meant that they were camouflaged against the pale birch trees that they rest on. Moths with a mutant black colouring were easily spotted and eaten by birds.

This gave the white variety an advantage, and they were more likely to survive to reproduce. During the last half of the s, airborne pollution in industrial areas blackened the birch tree bark with soot. This meant that the mutant black moths were now camouflaged, while the white variety became more vulnerable to predators. This gave the black variety an advantage, and they were more likely to survive and reproduce. If the environment changes rapidly, some species may not be able to adapt fast enough through natural selection.

Through studying the fossil record, we know that many of the organisms that once lived on Earth are now extinct. Dinosaurs are one example. An invasive species , a disease organism, a catastrophic environmental change, or a highly successful predator can all contribute to the extinction of species. Today, human actions such as overhunting and the destruction of habitats are the main cause of extinctions.

Extinctions seem to be occurring at a much faster rate today than they did in the past, as shown in the fossil record. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit.

The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society. National Geographic Society. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. The theory of natural selection was explored by 19th-century naturalist Charles Darwin. Natural selection explains how genetic traits of a species may change over time.

This may lead to speciation, the formation of a distinct new species. Select from these resources to teach your classroom about this subfield of evolutionary biology.