Discuss natural selection and artificial selection. What are the implications of the latter on the process of evolution?
Natural Selection: As implied by the name, nature selects organisms with suitable traits. Organisms which are better equipped to survive in the changed environmental conditions are able to produce more progenies and continue their lineage.
Artificial Selection: Artificial selection is brought about by humans: Human beings have been doing selective breeding of various plants and animals to obtain benefits from them. Artificial selection too has an important role to play in the process of evolution. Many plant varieties or animal breeds have come into origin because of artificial selection. Let us take the example of wild cabbage which has been subjected to artificial selection for a long time. Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, etc. are results of selective breeding in wild cabbage.