Darwin insisted that new variations, the raw materials for natural selection, originated ‎without purpose or direction, but he did not know their source. In his book On the Origin of Species, he started chapter 5 with this: “I HAVE hitherto sometimes spoken as if the variations...were due to chance. This, of course, is a wholly incorrect expression, but it serves to acknowledge plainly our…

What is Sympatric speciation?‎ ‎National Geographic says, “Speciation is how a new kind of plant or animal species is created. Speciation occurs when a group within a species separates from other members of its species and develops its own unique characteristics.” Sympatric speciation is the “development of many similar species in a single habitat, each with a different specialization.” [1] A) What is a…

What is Convergent Evolution? According to ScienceDirect, it is “the independent evolution of similar traits in different lineages resulting from strong selective pressures” [1] The Natural History Museum gave a stunning and clear example of Convergence: “Bats and birds are very different creatures - a bat's wing is more like a human arm than a bird’s wing. Yet both have evolved the remarkable ability…

Merriam-Webster defines Altruism as “1) unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others, and 2) behaviour by an animal that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to itself but that benefits others of its species. [1].  Encyclopedia Britannica states, “Altruism is a form of behaviour that benefits other individuals at the expense of the one that performs the action” [2]. In…