Question

In The Origin of Species, Darwin argued that the mechanism of descent with modification was _____.

1) uniformitarianism
2) natural selection
3) artificial selection
4) inheritance of acquired characteristics

Answer 1

Darwin argued that natural selection is the mechanism of descent with modification.

Step-by-step explanation:

Natural selection, Darwin argued, was an inevitable outcome of three principles that operated in nature. First, most characteristics of organisms are inherited or passed from parent to offspring. Second, more offspring are produced than can survive, so resources for survival and reproduction are limited. Lastly, offspring vary among each other in their characteristics, and those variations are inherited.

Darwin and Wallace reasoned that offspring with inherited characteristics that allow them to best compete for limited resources will survive and have more offspring than those individuals with variations that are less able to compete. This will lead to a change in populations over generations in a process that Darwin called descent with modification. Ultimately, natural selection leads to greater adaptation of the population to its local environment; it is the only mechanism known for adaptive evolution.