The Four Forces Of Evolution Essay Example For Free

Evolution is one of the major topics in anthropology, biology and other related fields of studies. In order to understand this subject, certain concepts need to be understood first. These concepts are: species, population, variation, The Four Forces of Evolution, isolation, and speciation.
The first concept, species, pertains to the group of organisms that can inter breed – meaning, they can produce a fertile offspring. The number of individuals belonging to one species or the number of species present at a defined time and place is termed population. What defines a species are the genes or alleles. There can be differences between alleles within a species and between species is termed variation. Note that the theory of evolution explains that all organism at one time came from the same alleles, then that alleles has undergone variations through time so that there are diverse organisms at present. The forces that drove these variations to take place are called the four forces of evolution.
The first of the four forces is mutation. This force may take place randomly. It is characterized by the change in original genetic materials and usually takes place during cell division. Mutation could take place at a faster rate compared to the other factors. Example of mutations that we currently know about is the mutations due to exposure to extreme environments like the exposure to nuclear radiation.
Genetic drift is the second force. It is a change at the single species’ population level. The disappearance of white moth and the dominance of black moth is an example of genetic drift. In genetic drift some alleles become more dominant while others can be totally eliminated.
The third force that causes variation is gene flow. This force causes an increase in the number of variations in the alleles of species. Intermarriage between a pure white European man and pure African woman, for example would produce an offspring that can have characteristics of both parents, this is another variation, therefore, within the human species.
The fourth force that brings about variation is natural selection. Simply put, this force drives the dominance and disappearance of certain characteristics among species as brought about by changes in the natural environment.
These forces could act upon populations or individuals through the mechanism of isolation and through the passing of time. Isolation pertains to the exposure of an individual or a portion of a population to different environment. The said portion then develops characteristics, through variation, in order to survive in the new environments. There are some variations that totally differentiate the isolated portion from its parent population, that a new species is born. This type of variation is called speciation.
Evolution is not as simple as it may seem. There many mechanisms and factors that are involved in it. It is therefore important to understand these factors and mechanisms first, before we can fully understand how evolution takes place and what its significance to the present society is. In my case, I have learned to appreciate more how nature works. Understanding evolution gave a sense of responsibility and respect to all of nature. If you come to think of it, we all came from one ancestor. Understanding evolution is a humbling experience. It also made me realize that we are affected by our environment more than we think we are being affected by it. We must therefore, understand our environment more, in order to understand the future of the entire humanity and the rest of our fellow organisms.