What is the Darwinian view of slow, incremental evolutionary change called?

• A. Anagenesis
• B. Cladogenesis
• C. Gradualism
• D. Parapatric speciation

Answer: (C)

Gradualism—the idea that evolutionary change occurs in small, cumulative steps over long time periods. In Darwin’s view, heritable variation exists in populations and natural selection acts on these tiny differences generation after generation. Over many generations, these small changes add up, producing noticeable differences and, over long spans, new species. The other terms refer to patterns or modes rather than the tempo of change: anagenesis is evolution within a single lineage without branching; cladogenesis is the splitting of lineages; parapatric speciation involves speciation across adjacent populations with limited gene flow. So the term that best captures slow, incremental change is gradualism.