Natural selection is the process by which heritable traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations. It is a key mechanism of evolution.
Further reading[]
- For technical audiences
- Gould, Stephen Jay (2002). The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-00613-5.
- Maynard Smith, John (1993). The Theory of Evolution: Canto Edition. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45128-0.
- Popper, Karl (1978) Natural selection and the emergence of mind. Dialectica 32:339-55. See [1]
- Sober, Elliott (1984) The Nature of Selection: Evolutionary Theory in Philosophical Focus. University of Chicago Press.
- Williams, George C. (1966) Adaptation and Natural Selection: A Critique of Some Current Evolutionary Thought. Oxford University Press.
- Williams George C. (1992) Natural Selection: Domains, Levels and Challenges. Oxford University Press.
- For general audiences
- Dawkins, Richard (1996) Climbing Mount Improbable. Penguin Books, ISBN 0-670-85018-7.
- Dennett, Daniel (1995) Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life. Simon & Schuster ISBN 0-684-82471-X.
- Gould, Stephen Jay (1997) Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History. Norton, ISBN 0-393-06425-5.
- Jones, Steve (2001) Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated. Ballantine Books ISBN 0-345-42277-5. Also published in Britain under the title Almost like a whale: the origin of species updated. Doubleday. ISBN 1-86230-025-9.
- Lewontin, Richard (1978) Adaptation. Scientific American 239:212-30
- Weiner, Jonathan (1994) The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time. Vintage Books, ISBN 0-679-73337-X.
- Historical
- Zirkle C (1941). Natural Selection before the "Origin of Species", Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 84 (1), p. 71-123.
- Kohm M (2004) A Reason for Everything: Natural Selection and the English Imagination. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-22392-3. For review, see [2] van Wyhe J (2005) Human Nature Review 5:1-4
External links[]
- The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin - Chapter 4,Natural Selection
- Natural Selection- Modeling for Understanding in Science Education, University of Wisconsin
- Natural Selection from University of Berkeley education website
- T. Ryan Gregory: Understanding Natural Selection: Essential Concepts and Common Misconceptions Evolution: Education and Outreach
