Free Essays on Natural Selction

Natural Selection The definition of natural selection can be stated as: the process by which individuals’ inherited needs and capabilities are basically intimately linked to resources available in their environment, giving those with greater fitness a better chance of survival and the ability to reproduce offspring. The driving force behind evolution is the struggle among entities for reproductive success. Every species desires that their genes be transferred to the next generation. A species that fails to transfer their genes to the next generation becomes extinct when the life of that entity comes to an end. No entity wants their line of genes, which is essentially the essence of their being to conclude, so they do everything in their power to successfully attempt to transfer their essence to the generation to come, in order for them to live on in a sense. This is the reason that the characteristics and qualities of an offspring are extremely similar to those of their parents. The parent is t ransferring qualities and similarities from itself to their newfound offspring. The parent lives on via the child, through its genes and similarities they pass on to it. Scientists argue that the theory of natural selection is not restricted to plants and animals, but is also applicable to human beings as well. If natural selection is the correct theory behind our existence, then it will obviously play an enormous role in determining the rationale behind the actions and motivations of human beings. According to this theory, the reason a human desires or is compelled to do something is because of the intense feeling or drive they inherently contain that prompts them to maximize their fitness, or carry their genes into the next generation. Natural selection believes that this is the underlying core behind a human being’s behaviour. An individual’s desire to date the opposite sex is compelled by their ultimate desire to meet a compatible par... Free Essays on Natural Selction Free Essays on Natural Selction Natural Selection The definition of natural selection can be stated as: the process by which individuals’ inherited needs and capabilities are basically intimately linked to resources available in their environment, giving those with greater fitness a better chance of survival and the ability to reproduce offspring. The driving force behind evolution is the struggle among entities for reproductive success. Every species desires that their genes be transferred to the next generation. A species that fails to transfer their genes to the next generation becomes extinct when the life of that entity comes to an end. No entity wants their line of genes, which is essentially the essence of their being to conclude, so they do everything in their power to successfully attempt to transfer their essence to the generation to come, in order for them to live on in a sense. This is the reason that the characteristics and qualities of an offspring are extremely similar to those of their parents. The parent is t ransferring qualities and similarities from itself to their newfound offspring. The parent lives on via the child, through its genes and similarities they pass on to it. Scientists argue that the theory of natural selection is not restricted to plants and animals, but is also applicable to human beings as well. If natural selection is the correct theory behind our existence, then it will obviously play an enormous role in determining the rationale behind the actions and motivations of human beings. According to this theory, the reason a human desires or is compelled to do something is because of the intense feeling or drive they inherently contain that prompts them to maximize their fitness, or carry their genes into the next generation. Natural selection believes that this is the underlying core behind a human being’s behaviour. An individual’s desire to date the opposite sex is compelled by their ultimate desire to meet a compatible par...

Ceratosaurus Facts and Figures

Ceratosaurus Facts and Figures Name: Ceratosaurus (Greek for horned lizard); pronounced seh-RAT-oh-SORE-us Habitat: Swamps of southern North America Historical Period: Late Jurassic (150-145 million years ago) Size and Weight: About 15 feet long and one ton Diet: Meat, fish and reptiles Distinguishing Characteristics: Row of bony plates on back; small horns on head; sharp teeth; bipedal posture About Ceratosaurus Ceratosaurus is one of those Jurassic dinosaurs that gives paleontologists fits: although it bore a distinct resemblance to other large theropods of its day (notably Allosaurus, the most common predatory dinosaur of late Jurassic North America, and the comically short-armed Carnotaurus of South America), it also possessed some distinct anatomical quirks- such as the line of bony plates along its back and the modest horn on its snout- that werent shared by any other meat-eaters. For this reason, Ceratosaurus is usually assigned to its own infraorder, the Ceratosauria, and dinosaurs that resemble it are technically classified as ceratosaurs. There is one generally accepted species of Ceratosaurus, C nasicornis; two other species erected in 2000, C. magnicornis and C. dentisulcatus, are more controversial. Whatever its place in the theropod family tree, its clear that Ceratosaurus was a fierce carnivore, gobbling up pretty much any living thing it happened across- including fish, aquatic reptiles, and both herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs (the marine component of its diet can be inferred from the fact that Ceratosaurus had a more flexible and crocodile-like tail than other carnivores, which presumably allowed it to swim with greater agility). Compared to the apex predators of late Jurassic North America, though, Ceratosaurus was fairly small (measuring only about 15 feet from head to tail and weighing no more than two tons), meaning it couldnt have hoped to win a standoff with a full-grown Allosaurus over, say, the carcass of a deceased Stegosaurus. (Interestingly, many dinosaur fossils have been discovered bearing Ceratosaurus tooth marks!) One of the most misunderstood features of Ceratosaurus is its nasal horn, which was actually more of a rounded bump, and nothing to compare with, say, the sharp, tapered horns of Triceratops. The famous American paleontologist Othniel C. Marsh, who named this dinosaur on the basis of remains discovered in Colorado and Utah, considered the horn an offensive weapon, but the more likely explanation is that this growth was a sexually selected characteristic- that is, Ceratosaurus males with more prominent horns had precedence when mating with females. Assuming it was thickly lined with blood vessels, the bump may even have been brightly colored during mating season, making Ceratosaurus the Jurassic equivalent of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!