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1. Complex Adaptations and Selection Werner Heim developed this activity using r

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Question

1. Complex Adaptations and Selection

Werner Heim developed this activity using regular playing cards to help illustrate how complex adaptations can arise given cumulative, nonrandom natural selection. You can do this activity alone or with friends, but make sure to complete both versions of the activity.

You will need a deck of cards. Separate out each of the suits, choose one suit, and shuffle it thoroughly. Shuffling represents the probability of a functional mutation, and each round represents time. So you’ll need to tally the number of times you shuffle the cards on a piece of paper.

For round 1, shuffle the cards, then look at the top card. If the top card is the ace, you can start an “organism” stack. If not, shuffle the cards for round 2, round 3, and so on, until the top card is the ace. Once you’ve started the “organism” stack, the objective is to build up the mutations through the entire suit of cards by shuffling and recording rounds. If the top card is the next card needed for the construction of the organism (next number or face card going from Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King), place it face up on the organism stack, shuffle, and repeat. If it’s not, then shuffle the cards again. Continue shuffling and placing appropriate cards on the organism stack until you get to the King.

How does this simulation compare with the cumulative mutations necessary for the evolution of a complex adaptation? ?

Explanation / Answer

Complex adaptation and selection is given by Werner Heim by using playing cards.The complex adaptation can arise given cumulative,nonrandom natural selection.Natural selection is non random process Evolution by natural selection is a cumulative process.cumulative selection can produce novel useful complex structure in relatively short period of time.Mutation is chance process but selection is non chance process.As card game stimulation showed,evolution by cumalative mutation is relatively rapid process.Natural selection is a process of pure chance,which is pure misconception;selection is not a matter of pure chance.it is stepwise constructive process which selectively builds new complex systems piece by piece,often just modifying previous systems to perform new functions.complex adaptation depends on the fixation of multipe,highely specific mutations,where intermediate stages of evolution seemingly provide little or no benefit.It is generally assumed that establishment of complex adaptations is very slow in nature,as evolution of such traits demands special population genetic or environment circumstances.cumulative mutation plays a important role in evolution of complex adaptation.