What do the term evolution and evolve mean in the field of biology?

Answer 1

Evolution is a series of hereditary changes in organisms; often more broadly construed as changes in types of entities over time, as the "evolution of printing techniques" or the "evolution of galaxies after the Big Bang." It would be illegitimate to extend the usage to entities that don't in some sense record the changes so that they persist, as in DNA, or in the memories of teachers of printing techniques, or in the density of clumps of matter in the early Universe. So one wouldn't say that hemlines evolve, even though they change.

Two things evolution is not:

1- It is not natural selection, the process whereby random mutations in an organism's DNA tend to be retained if they enhance its prospects of reproducing. This is the mechanismof evolution accepted by modern biologists.

2- It is not the movement of a family of organisms toward some perfect form. This is probably the biggest misconception about evolution. Many people think we are evolving toward ever smarter people. This mistake is due, one might speculate, to the fact that evolution has produced us, the smartest animal around. The temptation is strong to believe that that makes us better than other animals, from which it is natural, but fallacious, to conclude that evolution must have been aimed at producing ever better animals, and that it will continue to push our descendants toward what we consider perfection.

Answer 2

Evolution is the gradual change of a population in response to changes in the environment. Evolution does not occur in individuals, it can only occur when a mutation is added to a population or a certain gene is selected for. Evolution occurs because the fittest individuals who pass their genes on the most are the ones best suited for the environment. Those that don't survive don't pass on their traits. It is important to note that fitness described in survival of the fittest pertains to reproductive fitness, not physical fitness.

Answer 3

Evolution in Biology terms means a change in a species over a long period of time. It can take several generations for a characteristic in a species to change.

Answer 4

Evolution. The change in allele frequency over time in a population of organisms. Simply change over time.

Answer 5

Change over time in a population of organisms. Or, more genetically speaking, evolution is the change in allele frequency over time in a population of organisms.

Answer 6

Simply this. Evolution is the change in allele frequency over time in a population of organisms.