What is Natural Selection?

What is natural selection?

Natural selection is a mechanism of evolutionary changes that happens when individuals that are better adapted in the challenges of the environment than other individuals produce more offspring.

Natural selection accounts for the differences among individuals in a population in survival and the ability to successfully reproduce.
Essentially, some individuals have alleles that produce phenotypes that help these individuals survive in their environment than other individuals. These successfully individuals will then be able to pass these traits to their offspring

Charles Darwin noted that the slight variations among individuals can affect the chances of surviving and producing offspring.

Charles Darwin proposed several arguments to support his theory about natural selection:

• Populations tend to produce more offspring than what the environment can support
• Population sizes are stable
• Resources are limited
• Individuals have to compete for survival
• There is variation among the individuals in a given population
• These variations can be inherited by the offspring
• Survival of the fittest
• The most fit individuals are best adapted to survival
• Over time, evolution can occur due to the advantageous traits accumulating in a population

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