What common misconceptions about nature result from the phrase “survival of the fittest,” as opposed to the phrase that accurately describes what happens in nature, “survival of those who fit __ for now ?
Adv.
In terms of evolution, the word, ‘fitness’ has a comparative meaning. It refers to the ability of an organism to transfer its genes to the next generation compared to the other organisms in that population. If an organism has more offspring than the other organism in a population, it can be termed ‘more fit’. Similarly, if an organism has less offspring than the other organism in a population, it is regarded as ‘less fit’.
It can be said that the word ‘fittest’ is not used in evolutionary science. Only the terms, ‘more fit’ and ‘less fit’ are used. For example, even if an organism has 100 off springs it cannot be termed as ‘fit’ or ‘fittest’ because there would be organisms, in that population, who have 99 or 101 off springs. Even if no organism has 101 off spring, it does not mean that the organism is ‘fittest’ because, there would always be a chance for an organism to have 101 off spring in the future.
The given phrase, ‘survival of the fittest’ means that only the organisms, which are fittest, would survive. It is important to note that evolution does not produce organisms, which are only superior to others. Hence, in an evolutionary sense, the meaning of the word ‘fittest’ in the phrase, survival of the fittest can be taken as ”better”.
Survival of the fittest directly implies that the fittest organisms would only survive in the environment. But in a population, organism which are ‘less fit’ than other organisms also survive. So, instead of this phrase, the phrase ‘survival of those who fit’ can be used.
Match the terms with their meanings:
| a. gene pool | a variant form of a gene |
| c. allele frequency | the genetic makeup of an organism |
| d. genotype | exchange of genes between populations |
| e. gene flow | the relative representation of a given form of a gene in a population |
Match the agent of microevolution to its description:
| a. mutation | chance alterations of allele frequencies, having the greatest effect on small populations |
| b. gene flow | a process through which traits that confer a reproductive advantage to individuals are seen with greater frequency in succeeding generations of a population |
| c. natural selection | movement of alleles between populations by migration |
| d. genetic drift | genetic drift brought about by migration of a subpopulation |
| e. founder effect | changes in the genetic material |