Charles Darwin’s
APPLIED to a particular animal!
THE QUESTION:
How did long ears evolve in Rabbits?
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1. There is Variation in Every Population.2. Organisms have more offspring than can survive.Some rabbit ancestors had longer ears than others.
Rabbits breed, well, like rabbits! Lots and lots of babies, but only a few will survive!
3. Organisms compete for limited resources (food, water, etc).
There is only so much food and water in the environment, so they must compete for them. They must also compete against their predators so that they don't get eaten.
4. Organisms pass traits on to their offspring. (Genetics!)
Despite possible variation in any litter, longer-eared rabbits have more longer-eared babies, and shorter-eared rabbits have more shorter-eared babies.
5. Organisms with the most beneficial traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. (Natural Selection)
Those rabbits with the longer ears were better able to hear their predators! They were thus more likely to escape in time, and therefore more likely to reproduce (given that the shorter-eared rabbits were more likely to be someone's lunch!).
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