How did natural selection affect giraffes?
Charles Darwin held up giraffes as a prime example of natural selection, his theory that’s often summarized as “survival of the fittest.” Giraffes with comparably longer necks could reach food high up in trees, which gave them an advantage over other animals and members of their own species with shorter necks.
How do Darwin’s theories apply to the evolution of giraffes?
A Darwinian theory of evolution posits that it was through random variation that some giraffes had longer necks than others. Thanks to their long necks, they were able to reach leaves high up in the trees in their environment.
Did giraffes use natural selection?
The accepted theory on giraffe evolution is that the giraffes with the longest necks passed on their genes through natural selection, and that it took millions of years to get the animal we see now. The two forces that drove giraffes towards elongating their necks are simple.
What would Darwin’s explanation for the long necks of giraffes be?
Charles Darwin was the first to propose that giraffes evolved into the elegantly long-necked creatures they are because successive generations realised that extra vertebrae helped them get access to tender leaves on top of trees.
What did giraffes descend from?
How did giraffes evolve? Surprisingly enough for an African species, the giraffe originated from Eurasia, probably temperate Eurasia. This genus evolved seven to eight million years ago.
Which of the following ideas explains the transmission of long neck trait for giraffe according to Lamarck?
In the case of a giraffe, Lamarck believed that giraffes once had short necks that got progressively longer as members of each subsequent generation stretched their necks as long as they could. In doing so, Lamarck believed that each generation would grow slightly longer necks and pass that trait onto their offspring.
What is descent of modification?
Simply put, descent with modification means that traits are passed down from generation to generation and sometimes undergo changes or modifications over time. These changes may be caused by Natural Selection or even a mutation of DNA. The term became popular when Charles Darwin used it in his book The Descent of Man.
How has the giraffe adapted?
Some animals, such as giraffes, have more than one unique adaptation. A giraffe’s long neck allows it to reach food sources in the Serengeti region of Africa that other land animals cannot reach. Giraffes also have very long tongues, reaching 16-18 inches. They use their tongues as tools to pull leaves from branches.
What caused giraffes to evolve?
In the case of giraffes, times of drought and arid conditions give an advantage to those animals that can out-compete others by reaching the higher, untouched leaves. They form the ancestral stock of the animals that evolve into giraffes.
Which of the following is an example of descent with modification?
A great example of how competition can lead to evolution through descent with modification, is Darwin’s finches.