Chris Barry <chbarry at mackiller.llnl.gov> wrote:
>When an organism evolves to adapt to a given environment,
Organisms DO NOT evolve to adapt to a given environment. The environment acts
differentially on a population of organisms, "weeding out" those who are least
able to reproduce in that environment.
> does that species not
>select the behavior or characteristic that is benificial to its survival?
You just _don't_get_it_, do you? A "species" (which is not a thing like a tree,
but an idea like government) does *not* select ANYthing. INDIVIDUALS live or
die (and reproduce) as chance and fitness dictate. We call the differential
selection by the environment of "fitter" genotypes selection.
Susan Jane Hogarth
Charter member, PETA (People for Eating Tasty Animals)
