Charles Darwin’s work with breeding pigeons led him to discover that it is possible to change the characteristics of a species by manipulating their environment, mating and breeding practices, and even by chance.
Darwin found that the offspring of two different types of pigeons would often resemble one of the parent types more than the other. He also found that the offspring of two different types of pigeons would often be different from both parent types. This showed that traits could be inherited by offspring and that traits could be changed through selective breeding practices, such as choosing which pigeons mate with each other or not allowing certain pairs to mate at all.
Darwin found that the characteristics of a pigeon could be changed by inbreeding. Inbreeding occurs when parents are related; for example, if father mates with daughter or mother mates with son. When this happens, their offspring will have similar traits because their genes are similar. By inbreeding pigeons over time we can see how they change over generations and what kind of traits they pass on to their own offspring.
Darwin also found that the characteristics of a pigeon could be changed by crossbreeding: breeding two different types together instead of just one type like most breeders do today!
