Variation

• Intraspecific is variation within a species.
• Interspecific is variation between species.
• Environmental variation is caused by surroundings.
• Inherited or genetic variation is variation in characteristics from parents to offspring.
• Continuous variation is characteristics that can take any value within a range of values.
• Discontinuous variation is characteristics that can only be a certain value.
• Species evolve over time. This is called natural selection. They become better adapted to their environment. The best adapted survive and reproduce to pass on their advantageous characteristics to their offspring.
• Mutations can occur and most of the time, they are worse than the original gene and lead to a decrease in the organisms' likelihood to survive. However, sometimes they can be advantageous and increase survival rate. They are then passed on to offspring and eventually the mutation becomes normal.