Key Idea.
Section 1
The Reproduction Bridge
Survival alone is not enough; an organism must reproduce to pass on its traits.
Adaptive traits extend an organism's lifespan, giving it more opportunities to reproduce. A longer life leads to more offspring. This ensures that the helpful genes are copied many times into the next generation.
Section 2
The Loss of Non-Adaptive Traits
On the flip side, non-adaptive traits usually lead to early death.
If an individual is eaten by a predator before it can reproduce, its genes (and its traits) die with it. They are not passed on. Over time, this effectively removes unhelpful traits from the gene pool.
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Section 1
The Reproduction Bridge
Survival alone is not enough; an organism must reproduce to pass on its traits.
Adaptive traits extend an organism's lifespan, giving it more opportunities to reproduce. A longer life leads to more offspring. This ensures that the helpful genes are copied many times into the next generation.
Section 2
The Loss of Non-Adaptive Traits
On the flip side, non-adaptive traits usually lead to early death.
If an individual is eaten by a predator before it can reproduce, its genes (and its traits) die with it. They are not passed on. Over time, this effectively removes unhelpful traits from the gene pool.
Book overview
Jump across lessons in the current chapter without opening the full course modal.
Continue this chapter