Title: The Roles that Differential Survival, Differential Reproduction Rates, and Differential Mate Selection play in Natural SelectionIntroduction: The process in which biological traits become either more or less common in populations is known as Natural Selection (Andersson, 1995). This is mainly due to the effect that inherited traits have on the differential survival, differential reproductive rates, and the differential mate selection. There is variation among all populations of organisms that can be caused by mutations occurring in the organisms and being passed on to its offspring (Mole, 2013). Individuals that survive to reproductive age and reproduce the most offspring who also make it to reproductive age and reproduce are considered more fit then those who do not survive to reproductive age, reproduce less offspring, or reproduce offspring that do not reach reproductive age (Mayr, 1972). Natural selection is based on the phenotype of an organism which consists of the physical, behavioral, and physiological characteristics.
In order to be successful in survival of the fittest, there are three factors that need to be examined; survival, reproductive rates, and mate selection (Madar et al, 2013). In this experiment, we examined these factors to give us a better idea of how natural selection works throughout the populations, and essentially, how we all came to be. My hypothesis was: students with the ability to survive longer in the differential survival experiment, or produce the most offspring in the differential reproductive rates, and differential mate selection experiments, would have better chances of surviving natural selection by producing the most offspring, who would then live to reproductive ages, thus passing on their genes. Objective: This lab explains the process that all organisms undergo in order to and create the strongest offspring with the highest chance of surviving. Materials and Methods: There are three different experiments...