The Process of Natural Selection

The process of natural selection was introduced by Charles Darwin in 1859. In natural selection favorable heritable traits become more common in the next generation of reproducing populations. The unfavorable heritable traits become less common in the next generation of individuals. There are four observations of natural selection. Observation one is individuals produce more young than the environment can support. The second observation is that there are limited resources. This limits the population over the long-term. This means that there is a struggle for existence. The third observation is that individuals have variations that enable them to get a disproportionate share of the favorable inheritable traits that enable them to get mates, shelter, and food. This is survival of the fittest. The fourth observation of natural selection is that the offspring will resemble the parents. The next generation of individuals will more closely resemble the fittest individuals.