Explain how natural selection leads to an increase or decrease in the expression of certain traits - Middle School Life Science

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Question

If a species of bird adapts to have a broader and shorter wingspan, this would be an example of                     .

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Answer

The answer is a "structural adaptation."

Adaptations are any change in the structure or behavior of a species which helps it to become better fitted to survive and reproduce in its environment. When a random mutation occurs, it can lead to an increase in the expression of specific traits. When traits are inheritable and beneficial, they become more common because those individuals thrive. Through the process of natural selection, more individuals with beneficial mutations will survive than those without it, and it will lead to an increase in the expression of those certain traits throughout the population. On a broader scale over a longer period of time, this is how natural selection leads to evolution.

Structural adaptations are physical features of an organism like the bill on a bird or the fur on a bear. Other adaptations are behavioral. Behavioral adaptations are the things organisms do to survive. For example, bird calls and migration are behavioral adaptations.

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