Question

Can humans cause natural selection?

Answer 1

Natural Selection:

1. It is a process of evolution wherein, nature selects individuals that can survive & reproduce.
2. Whereas organisms that cannot survive & reproduce are naturally eliminated.
3. It simply means survival of the fittest.

Humans causing natural selection:

1. Humans can act as an agent of natural selection.
2. For example- the excess use of antibiotics by humans has caused the development of broader antibiotic resistance in bacterial strains.
3. Sometimes, such selection is also termed “artificial selection.”
4. In mulching cattle, mating between individuals with desired traits(for example, high milk yield, horn shape, etc.) improves that breed's future generation.
5. And thereby making it evolve into a better breed.
6. In plants, individuals with desired traits like high fruit yield(in one plant) and better shelf life(in another) can be bred together to produce a new plant with these desired traits.