Which process explains why individuals with favorable traits tend to survive and reproduce more successfully?

Which process explains why individuals with favorable traits tend to survive and reproduce more successfully?

• A. Variation
• B. Evolution
• C. Adaptation
• D. Natural selection

Answer: (D)

Natural selection is the process by which individuals with traits that boost survival and reproductive success leave more offspring. In every generation, natural variation means some individuals are better suited to the environment. Those individuals tend to survive longer and reproduce more, passing their favorable traits to the next generation. Over many generations, the traits that help survival become more common in the population, so the population becomes better adapted to its environment. Variation provides the differences; evolution is the long-term change in a population, and adaptation is the advantageous trait itself.

Natural selection is the process by which individuals with traits that boost survival and reproductive success leave more offspring. In every generation, natural variation means some individuals are better suited to the environment. Those individuals tend to survive longer and reproduce more, passing their favorable traits to the next generation. Over many generations, the traits that help survival become more common in the population, so the population becomes better adapted to its environment. Variation provides the differences; evolution is the long-term change in a population, and adaptation is the advantageous trait itself.