Artificial Selection (Cambridge (CIE) O Level Biology): Revision Note

Artificial Selection

• Artificial selection, also known as selective breeding, has been carried out by humans for thousands of years; this process uses the principles of natural selection to develop animal and plant varieties with desirable characteristics

  • In natural selection, advantageous features are effectively 'selected' by the environment due to their impact on survival rates, while in artificial selection, humans select features that are desirable

• The process of selective breeding involves:

  • Selecting individuals with desired characteristics

  • Cross breeding the selected individuals together

  • Selecting offspring that show the desired characteristics

  • Breeding the selected offspring together

  • Repetition of this process over many generations until all offspring show the desired characteristics

• Selective breeding has resulted in many of the economically important varieties of plants and animals that we see every day, e.g.

  • Dog breeders select which dogs that have desirable personalities and physical features; this has given rise to the many recognisable dog breeds of today

Plant breeders can choose which plant individuals to breed from, producing valuable crop varieties and garden plants

Selective breeding in animals and plants diagram

Many familiar varieties of animals and plants have been developed by selective breeding