User:Sbeaver1016/Effective Fitness (in hominin)

Effective fitness (Effective fitness) is the level of sexual viability of an individual in reference to how it may impact a population. If an individual has a high level of effective fitness it means they are most likely to find a comparable sexual mate and between them create offspring that is healthy, virile and will also have a high level of effective fitness. This is a concept of Darwinian evolutionary theory. This can be assessed with any being (organism?), not just hominins, but this article will asses it in terms of the impact on humans and species  closely related to humans.

Effective fitness has largely impacted evolution. However, fitness levels have been constantly influenced by the landscape in which they are evolving. This landscape consists of access to resources, competing peoples and animals as well as the availability of mates.

Natural Selection and Fitness
In hominins, effective fitness has shaped the evolution of the gene pool. Natural selection (Natural selection) is the process by which hereditary traits are selected to be passed down through multiple generations. Those who study evolution are able to track the fitness levels of individuals in a lineage by what traits are passed down, they are also able to predict the traits natural selection will encourage based off of an individual's level of fitness. Fitness levels on change based on a number of environmental factors, however, whatever individual with the highest mean fitness over the course of their life will determine the trends and traits of a population.

Fitness on a Smaller Scale
It is not just within a population that fitness determines the trajectory that genes will follow, but within an individual. In the development of a fetus, certain genes will have been passed down from the two parents. Natural selection will allow certain alleles within a haploid to take root and flourish, while others will die off. This is determined by the general fitness level of the alleles.

Effective Fitness in the Evolution of Hominin
Effective fitness has contributed greatly to how Hominins have evolved. When Homo Sapiens (us) were evolving, they were in competition with other subspecies of Hominin and other animals. We evolved to be omnivorous because it allowed the greatest access to food resources, we became hunters instead of scavengers and we developed tools that aided us in daily life. All of this contributed to our reproductive rates. Hominin, in a broader sense, learned to use their/our surroundings in order to survive. The needs of the group created a sort of natural genetic cultivation as the species and subspecies evolved and grew into the separate sort of tribes that we study today. These species (and subspecies) include many of the big names in archaeological and anthropological studies such as Homo Habilis, Australopithecus Afarensis (Lucy), Homo Rudolfensus, and Homo Sapiens as well as many others.

Specifically in the instance of Homo Sapiens, effective fitness is most commonly referenced when discussing athletic and physical abilities (literal fitness). Often running in particular in discussed. Homo Sapiens are significantly more equipped physically to run for long durations of time while keeping a steady pace compared to all other members of the Hominin group. This long-distance running ability set us apart from other primates and provided a survival benefit that was incredibly necessary if we were to continue as a species. It allowed us to outrun predators and put distance between us an other animals (or other Hominin) competing for the same resources. Homo Sapiens had the highest level of effective fitness within the Hominin category and this allowed us to flourish and continue to survive today.

Effective fitness is fundamental to the development of a species. Homo Sapiens are the last species of Hominin that is alive today and that is because of the genetic cultivation that natural selection provided and effective fitness encouraged. Effective fitness as a concept is largely intertwined with natural selection and the processes of deciding which genetic traits and features are passed on to the next generation. Without high enough levels of effective fitness within a population the population will die out, as seen with every other species of Hominin. Effective fitness is the most fundamental factor in producing offspring that will continue to improve and aid the species. It is seen on large scales within an entire species, on microscopic scales within an individual allele, and at every level in between.