Definition of Evolutionary Biology

There are more than two million species of living things. This great diversity from organisms it seems to have been designed to guarantee its existence. In this sense, the theory that explains how each organism adapts to its natural environment is known as the theory of evolution, what is the framework evolutionary biology scientist.

Each living being has adapted in a specific way over millions of years of evolution. This fact poses one of the great challenges of evolutionary biology. The problem can be posed as a question: if each species is adapted to its environment How can you survive the changes that occur over time?

According to biologists, life in any of its forms has a basic quality: reproduction

In any medium environment individuals of each species reproduce and each individual must compete with those of the same species for survival. In this way, according to the postulates of evolutionary biology, only those living beings that best adapt to their environment survive. This is because each individual is different from the others and only those whose characteristics are useful can survive.

The theory of evolution was a scientific revolution

This conception of life is based on the research of the British scientist Charles Darwin (1809-1882). According to Darwin, the process that explains the changes in each species is known as natural selection.

The darwin theory of evolution was exhibited in his work "The Origin of Species", a work that revolutionized biology, other branches of knowledge and the vision of the world in general. Darwin explained the complexity and the diversity of life as a whole.

The basics of natural selection

Before Darwin's explanations it was believed that species had been created by the hand of God. His research provided a very different conception.

Darwin's natural selection is based on two aspects:

1) the reproductive capacity of animal populations is practically unlimited, but resources are scarce and this mismatch leads to a struggle for survival between the different individuals of a species and

2) in the struggle for survival there is a selection of the physical traits (phenotypes) that are most favorable.

These two mechanisms contribute to the diversification of species and their adaptation to the natural environment.

Photos: Fotolia - Andrey Armyagov / Ajdm