Species Evolution

Definition

Species evolution is the process by which populations of organisms change over generations to become more complex or adapted to their environment.

Analogy

Think of species evolution as a smartphone software update. Over time, the software (species) undergoes changes and improvements (evolution) to better suit user needs (environment).

Related terms

Mutation: These are changes in an organism's DNA that can lead to variation within a species. It’s like a coding error during a software update that results in new features.

Speciation: This is the formation of new and distinct species through evolution. It’s like developing an entirely new version of your smartphone software based on user feedback.

Natural Selection: As mentioned earlier, this is nature's way of choosing who gets to reproduce based on who is best adapted for survival. In our analogy, it would be like users deciding which software updates are most useful and keeping those while discarding others.