Natural Selection, Adaptations, and Patterns of Evolution

Natural selection is the primary mechanism for the evolution of species. Natural selection can cause populations to transition traits through directional, stabilizing, or disruptive selection. In this topic, you examined various characteristics of natural selection, as well as how organisms adapt to their environments. Finally, you learned that evolution can occur in different patterns, including convergent, divergent, and coevolution. The bats and butterflies in the image to the right are an example of divergent evolution - both species developed specialized wings to fly in order to protect themselves and access food resources.