Artificial selection

Long before Darwin and Wallace, farmers and breeders were using the idea of selection to cause major changes in the features of their plants and animals over the course of decades. Farmers and breeders allowed only the plants and animals with desirable characteristics to reproduce, causing the evolution of farm stock. This process is called artificial selection because people (instead of nature) select which organisms get to reproduce.

As shown below, farmers have cultivated numerous popular crops from the wild mustard, by artificially selecting for certain attributes.

Artificial selection in the mustard family

These common vegetables were cultivated from forms of wild mustard. This is evolution through artificial selection.

Sexual selection (2 of 2)

Adaptation

Broccoli image courtesy of Jeff Burke and Lorraine Triolo; Cabbage image courtesy of www.gristmagazine.com; Kale image courtesy of www.foodsubs.com; Kohlrabi image courtesy of Jozef Jarosciak; Cauliflower image courtesy of The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Mustard image courtesy of Gernot Katzer

Mechanisms
page 17 of 22

< previous | next >

Read about artificial selection in the lab.

Learn more about artificial selection in context:

From the origins of life to the future of biotech: The work of Andy Ellington, a research profile.

The other green (r)evolution, a news brief with discussion questions.

Teach your students about artificial selection:

Artificially selecting dogs, a classroom activity for grades 6-12.

Selection in action, a lecture for grades 9-12.

Find additional lessons, activities, videos, and articles that focus on artificial selection.