Artificial Selection
Domestication of dogs started long ago in history where humans choose a dog as one of the best in the animal kingdom. Recently, domestication of dogs serves different reasons to different people and hence the increase in interbreeding of the species. Understanding the process of artificial selection requires first understanding the idea behind natural selection.
The concept of evolution gives rise to natural selection (Akey et al. 2010). Natural selection occurs in every population with a characteristic of genetic diversity. Change in physical and behavior among animal leads to the idea of genetic diversity. Different animals may differ in color, size, aggressiveness, and fastness.
However, there is neutrality in such characteristics as some animals may not be generating harm or benefit to humans around them. On another view, the reproduction and survival of humans depend much on these qualities. Frequently visible species that require hiding in the environment may die young thus leaving no offspring (Akey et al. 2010).
Beneficial quality animals usually have long lifespan thus reproduces easily increasing the traits of genetic diversity leading to an evolving environment.
Artificial selection works the same as natural selection only that human can choose the traits to exist in the environment. The animals may gain or not gain from those traits as people breed the animals they feel comfortable to exist in the environment. Artificial selection has therefore led to an increase in reproduction in dogs breed to cope with the changing environment.
The advantage of artificial selection is that it ensures the evolution of different species of dogs (Akey et al. 2010). Also human population increases due to genetic diversity hence ensuring a sustainable environment.
The disadvantage of artificial selection to the species is that it poses many health issues such as skin problems and blood disorders. To humans also there is limitation arising from artificial selection as they become much dependent on new nature of environments such as plants and shelter.
Reference
Akey, J. M., Ruhe, A. L., Akey, D. T., Wong, A. K., Connelly, C. F., Madeoy, J., & Neff, M. W. (2010). Tracking footprints of artificial selection in the dog genome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(3), 1160-1165.
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