Key learning points

1. The theory of evolution by natural selection suggests that all modern species evolved from earlier species.
2. Natural selection causes each generation of a species to become better adapted to its environment.
3. Natural selection can cause common features of a population to change so much that we classify them as a new species.
4. Populations of the same species living in different conditions can evolve to become separate species.
5. An example of speciation of populations living in different conditions (e.g. Galápagos tortoises).

Keywords

• Species - A group of similar organisms that can reproduce and produce fertile offspring.

• Speciation - When natural selection causes new species to form.

• Natural selection - Organisms that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on their genes to their offspring.

• Adaptation - A feature that organisms have that helps them live in a particular place and survive.

Common misconception