Mutation, Adaptation, Natural Selection, and Extinction change populations

• Species respond to changes in their environment through adaptation, which is a gradual process that occurs over a long period of time.
• The progression of these long-term changes is well documented in the fossil record.
• The genetic variation in a population will remain stable from one generation to the next in the absence of disturbing factors (changes) such as mutations and natural selection.
• As habitats change, some organisms survive and reproduce, some move out of or into the transformed habitat, and some die.
• A change in the sequence of DNA (and thus the protein produced) can have a positive, negative, or no effect on an organism.

• Mutations can be caused by random errors during DNA replication, exposure to radiation, or chemicals.
• Whereas mutations in the body cells of an organism won't be passed on to its offspring, mutations in the sex cells of an organism will be passed on to its offspring .
• The interaction of heredity mechanisms and the environment creates both stability from one generation to the next and drives change that produces the diversity of life on our planet.
• Natural selection describes the survival and reproduction of individuals within a population exhibiting variations for traits that best enable them to survive in their environment.
• The frequency of certain traits in a species can shift over time in response to natural and artificial selection.
• This process acts over generations, producing traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment.

• Adaptation is any alteration to the structure, function, or behavior of an organism resulting from natural selection.
• Adaptation makes the organism better suited to survive and reproduce in its environment.
• If a species does not possess traits that enable survival in its environment or adaptation to changes in the environment, then the species may become extinct.

You should be able to:
• explain the relationship among mutations, variations in traits in a population, and natural selection .
• compare natural selection and extinction .
• explain how mutations differ from adaptations.
• explain how  genetic variations in traits in a population increase some individuals' probability of surviving and reproducing in a specific environment

The Fossil record, Genetic information, and Anatomical comparisons provide evidence for Evolution

• The fossil record documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms and their environments through Earth's history.
• The fossil record and comparisons of anatomical similarities among organisms enables the inference of lines of evolutionary descent.
• The theory of evolution is a shared understanding that encapsulates our current understanding of how biological systems change over time.
• Mechanisms which drive evolution include mutation, adaptation, natural selection, and extinction.
• Evidence for evolution is drawn from a variety of data sources, including the fossil record, genetic information, and anatomical similarities across species.

Environmental factors and Genetic variation, influence survivability and diversity of organism

• Organisms can be described by their physical features, such as color, shape, body covering, and height.
• Although individuals within a population have the same basic physical characteristics, close examination will reveal slight variations for a given trait.
• Genetic variations occur randomly among individuals of any population and may or may not help the individual organism survive and reproduce in its environment.

• The expression of many traits involves both inheritance and the environment.
• Individuals of a population each exhibit a range of variations in a trait as a result of the variations in their genetic codes.
• Genetic variations create diversity within a species.
• Changes in environmental factors such as habitat loss, increased pollution, climate change, and invasive species can challenge the survival of members of a population.
• Organisms that survive pass their traits on to offspring.

You should be able to:
• describe the role of fossils in determining events in Earth's history.
• explain how  the anatomical similarities and differences among modern organisms and between modern and fossil organisms to infer evolutionary relationships .
• explain how genetic variations in offspring, which leads to variations in successive generations, can result from the same two parents.
• construct an evidence-based explanation about how environmental factors and genetic variation can influence a species' survival, reproduction, and diversity.
• explain what is meant by the phrase, "survival of the fittest".