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Some people use the terms 'microevolution' and 'macroevolution' to refer to evolutionary processes that occur over short and long time scales, respectively. However, scientists use the single term evolution to describe all such processes, ranging from the spread of one mutation within a population over a generation to the diversification of all life forms from our last universal common ancestor over billions of years.
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Microevolution refers to the small changes caused by evolution in the same species. The results of these changes are often called variations, or adaptations. The can be accomplished by either natural or artificaial selection. An example is when dog breeders produce a new breed of dog. Microevolution is caused by recombining the genetic material availible in a population.
The concept of Macroevolution refers to large evolutionary changes over time. This usually refers to the formation of new species, the origin of new types of organisms from previously existing, but different, ancestral types. Examples of this would be fish descending from an invertebrate animal, or whales descending from a land mammals. The changes are definately immediatly noticeble and so are their effect. It may seem that genetic mutations, or the addition of new hereditary material, leads to macroevolution, but this has never been proven.
Currently, it is only an assumption that microevolution leads to macroevolution, ecologists have not connected the two phenomenons through evidence. It has been concluded, however, that the evidence for microevolution cannot used to explain the phenomena of macroevolution.
