Natural Selection

 Most people have heard the term "survival of the fittest" in school when talking about evolution and natural selection. However, have you ever heard of the term "survival of the good enough". It is a concept in evolution that explains how organisms adapted to their environment, not in any extreme way, will most likely survive and reproduce more often, impacting evolutionary processes more than organisms with extreme phenotypes. For example, most people would think the biggest gorilla would be the most successful in natural selection because he is the most "fit". However, since he is the biggest gorilla, the other gorillas are constantly trying to take over as the biggest gorilla. This leads to him expending a lot of energy fighting for his spot and to keep his females from other males. Gorillas that are big enough to survive and reproduce, but are not the biggest in the area, will have a higher chance of passing on their genetics because they will have more opportunities to produce successful offspring. This is why I believe the term "survival of the good enough" is a more accurate description of natural selection than the term "survival of the fittest".





Comments

  1. Kalissa MoseleySeptember 20, 2024 at 8:00 AM

    I really like how you use the description "extreme phenotypes" because that really paints the picture that the organism is on one end of the spectrum and may not be as ideal as those individuals in the "middle." I really like your visual as well! I think it looks really nice and clean and I would love to know what you used to develop it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnnahSeptember 21, 2024 at 8:14 PM

    Hi Abby! Your depiction of the gorillas and cows is very helpful. You also did a wonderful job of explaining how the biggest animal may not always have the best chance of survival.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Keli P.September 22, 2024 at 1:45 PM

    I think you did a great job explaining "survival of the good enough", your visuals showing how the largest animals do not always equate to the most fit depict the concept in a way you can really understand.

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  4. Rin BurkhartSeptember 22, 2024 at 2:02 PM

    Your example of the gorillas and the point you made about the top ones having to expend more energy to remain at the top really helped to explain how the 'good enough' gorillas are more likely to pass their genes down, despite not being the strongest.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Catrina AguirreSeptember 22, 2024 at 9:43 PM

    Your examples and visuals are very good and they help demonstrate the difference between survival of the good enough and survival of the fittest really well!

    ReplyDelete
  6. JodieSeptember 23, 2024 at 12:51 PM

    Often, those "good enough" gorillas are what we call "sneakers." They sneak copulations while the dominant males are fighting or patrolling their territory. This is a very sound and common mating strategy! Good job. - Dr. W

    ReplyDelete

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