| NSES Content Standard C
Life Science: Diversity and adaptations of organisms Grades 5-8, page 158 Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed
through gradual processes over many generations. Species acquire many of
their unique characteristics through biological adaptation, which involves
the selection of naturally occurring variations in populations. Biological
adaptations include changes in structures, behaviors, or physiology that
enhance survival and reproductive success in a particular environment.
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Benchmark 5F The Living Environment:
Evolution of Life
Grades 6-8, page 124
Small differences between parents and offspring can accumulate (through
selective breeding) in successive generations so that descendants are very
different from their ancestors.
Benchmark 5F The Living Environment:
Evolution of Life
Grades 6-8, page 124
Individual organisms with certain traits are more likely than others
to survive and have offspring. Changes in environmental conditions can
affect the survival of individual organisms and entire species.
Benchmark 5F The Living Environment:
Evolution of Life
Grades 9-12, page 125
Natural selection provides the following mechanism for evolution: Some
variation in heritable characteristics exists within every species, some
of these characteristics give individuals an advantage over others in surviving
and reproducing, and the advantaged offspring, in turn, are more likely
than others to survive and reproduce. The proportion of individuals that
have advantageous characteristics will increase.
Benchmark 5F The Living Environment:
Evolution of Life
Grades 9-12, page 125
Heritable characteristics can be observed at molecular and whole-organism
levels--in structure, chemistry, or behavior. These characteristics strongly
influence what capabilities an organism will have and how it will react,
and therefore influence how likely it is to survive and reproduce.