Adaptation and Natural Selection: Overview

Jeffry B Mitton, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Published online: March 2002

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0001706

Adaptation is both an evolutionary process and a product of natural selection: adaptation is a process of evolution in which traits are modified by natural selection; an adaptation is a phenotypic trait moulded by natural selection. In both cases the evolution is driven by natural selection.

Keywords: evolution; genetic variation; fitness

 Further Reading
    Arnold SJ (1981) Behavioral variation in natural populations. I. Phenotypic, genetic and environmental correlations between chemoreceptive responses to prey in the garter snake, Thamnophis elegans. Evolution 35: 489–509.
    Dobzhansky T H (1968) On some fundamental concepts of Darwinian biology. Evolutionary Biology 2: 1–34.
    book Dawkins R (1989) The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    book Futuyma DJ (1998) Evolutionary Biology. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates.
    Georghiou GP (1972) The evolution of resistance to pesticides. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 3: 133–168.
    book Gould SJ (1980) The Panda's Thumb. New York: WW Norton.
    book Harvey PH and Pagel MD (1991) The Comparative Method in Evolutionary Biology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Kettlewell HBD (1955) Selection experiments on industrial melanism in the Lepidoptera. Heredity 10: 287–301.
    Mitton JB (1977) Shell colour and pattern variation in Mytilus edulis and its adaptive significance. Chesapeake Science 18: 387–390.
    book Mitton JB (1997) Selection in Natural Populations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    book Møller AP (1994) Sexual Selection and the Barn Swallow. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    book Paley W (1816) Natural Theology; Or, Evidences Of The Existence And Attributes Of The Deity, Collected From The Appearances Of Nature. London: Baynes.
    book Rose MR and Lauder GV (eds) (1996) Adaptation. San Diego: Academic Press.
    book Weiner J (1994) The Beak of the Finch. New York: Random House.
    Werren JH, Nur U and Wu CI (1988) Selfish genetic elements. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 3: 297–302.
    book Williams GC (1992) Natural Selection: Domains, Levels, and Challenges. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    book Williams GC (1997) The Pony Fish's Glow: and Other Clues to Plan and Purpose in Nature. New York: Basic Books.

Related Sub-Topics:

Adaptive Evolution | Selection and Variation
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Article Title: Adaptation and Natural Selection: Overview
 
How to Cite close
Mitton, Jeffry B(Mar 2002) Adaptation and Natural Selection: Overview. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0001706]