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Can we observe natural selection happening right now in real-time?

Menachem Oxley

Yes, we can observe natural selection happening right now in real-time! Natural selection is when animals or plants with certain traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than others. This means that over time, those traits become more common in the population.

For example, let's say there are birds with different beak sizes. If there are a lot of big seeds in the environment, birds with big beaks are better able to crack them open and survive. Over time, more and more birds with big beaks will survive and reproduce, passing on their big-beak genes to their offspring. This is natural selection!

So how can we observe this in real-time? Well, scientists can study animal populations over many years and see if certain traits become more or less common over time. One famous example is the peppered moth in England. Before the industrial revolution, most of these moths were light-colored, which helped them hide on light-colored trees. But as pollution darkened the trees, dark-colored moths became better camouflaged and started to survive and reproduce more. Over time, the population of peppered moths shifted from mostly light-colored to mostly dark-colored. This is a great example of natural selection happening in real-time!

Another way scientists can observe natural selection is by conducting experiments in a lab. They might breed animals or plants with certain traits to see how they do in different environments. For example, they might breed fruit flies with long wings and short wings and see which ones are better able to survive in a windy environment. Over many generations, the fly population will shift towards the trait that helps them survive best.

So, in conclusion, yes, we can observe natural selection happening right now in real-time! It's all around us, from the birds in our backyards to the moths on the trees to the fruit flies in the lab. Understanding natural selection helps scientists better understand how life on earth evolves over time.