Final answer:
Darwin's and Wallace's concept of descent with modification through natural selection is strongly associated with evolution, which is guided by inherited traits, competition for limited resources, and the survival of the fittest leading to adaptive changes across generations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The core idea of Charles Darwin's and Alfred Russel Wallace's ideas, namely descent with modifications via natural selection, is intimately tied to the large force of evolution. The concept revolves around three main principles that both naturalists realized through their observations and studies:
- Most characteristics of organisms are inherited from their parents.
- More offspring are produced than can survive, leading to competition for limited resources.
- Offspring vary among each other in their inherited characteristics, and those with traits that best allow them to compete for resources are more likely to survive and reproduce.
This process leads to the adaptation of populations to their environment over generations, a mechanism that is the only known cause of adaptive evolution.