How do we measure and define evolution?

Explanation:

The rate of evolution is a measurement of the change in an evolutionary lineage over time. ... The rate of evolution is measured in 'darwins'. Haldane (pictured opposite) defined a 'darwin' as a unit to measure.

Evolution is the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations and relies on the process of natural selection.

1) gene flow

- it is described as the transfer of genes from one population to another population so that frequency of gene is increased.

-a zebra migrates to join a different herd of zebras.

2) natural selection

- a mechanism of evolutionary change in which individuals with advantageous traits survive and reproduce whereas the others ( those that can not adapt) eliminate from the population.

-competition for sunlight leads to taller trees.

3) mutation

- permanent change in the nucleotide sequence of dna ( genetic material) that could have harmful or useful consequences.

-the dna of a snake changes to make its venom stronger.

4) genetic drift - it is a random phenomenon ( that occurs by chance such as fire) that results in change in the gene frequency in a small population.    

-a grassfire randomly sweeps through a population of buffalo and kills most of the animals.

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