What is natural selection?

What is natural selection?

• A. The differential survival and reproduction of individuals with advantageous inherited traits.
• B. The random mutation of genes without relevance to survival.
• C. The inheritance of acquired traits during an organism's lifetime.
• D. The pairing of unrelated individuals in a mating system.

Answer: (D)

Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals with advantageous inherited traits. In any population, individuals vary in their traits due to genetic differences. Those versions of traits that help an individual survive longer or reproduce more effectively in a given environment leave more offspring, so their genes become more common in the next generation. For this to happen, the traits must be inherited and there must be variation that affects fitness. The idea that evolution is driven solely by random mutations misses the filtering effect: mutations provide the variation, but natural selection sorts that variation by how it influences survival and reproduction. The idea that acquired traits during life are inherited is not how evolution works, since natural selection acts on genetic inheritance, not on traits gained through experience. And while mating patterns influence who reproduces, natural selection centers on how heritable traits affect survival and reproductive success, not on who mates with whom.

Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals with advantageous inherited traits. In any population, individuals vary in their traits due to genetic differences. Those versions of traits that help an individual survive longer or reproduce more effectively in a given environment leave more offspring, so their genes become more common in the next generation. For this to happen, the traits must be inherited and there must be variation that affects fitness. The idea that evolution is driven solely by random mutations misses the filtering effect: mutations provide the variation, but natural selection sorts that variation by how it influences survival and reproduction. The idea that acquired traits during life are inherited is not how evolution works, since natural selection acts on genetic inheritance, not on traits gained through experience. And while mating patterns influence who reproduces, natural selection centers on how heritable traits affect survival and reproductive success, not on who mates with whom.