Natural Selection VS. Artificial Selection

Summary:
There is a difference between Natural Selection and Artificial Selection. Natural means something that is made by nature, while artificial is something made by humans. Both Natural Selection and Artificial Selection are related to evolution, which means a change over time. An example we could use to prove the differences in these to forms of selection are cougars. One cougar has very sharp teeth, while the other cougar has very dull teeth. In this case, Nature would decide that the cougar with the sharp teeth will survive better then the cougar with the dull teeth. It was not up to humans to make this decision. This is an example of Natural Selection. On the other hand, if humans were surviving which cougars would survive, we probably wouldn't be deciding on the sharpness of their teeth, rather on their appearance and what we think is "cute". Therefore, whichever cougar is cuter is the one that the humans will choose to keep alive. Over many years, after domesticating animals, we made specific animals house pets. This is artificial selection. Another example of natural selection is plants. If specific plants were resistant to drought, when there is a low amount of rain the plants that need less water survive, while the other plants die. On the other hand, whatever flower humans choose they like the best is the one that will survive since humans have things such as irrigation. This is another example of artificial selection.

Relevance:
This is relevant to our main topic that we are studying now, evolution. It's also relevant to what we did in notes about natural selection and artificial selection when it comes to the potato and later Darwin's explanations of these types of selection.

Siting:
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhkYc7fHcR0
Publisher: Youtube
Author:dek2635 (Mr. Kam)
Date of Publication: November 12, 2012