How does natural selection favor certain traits?

Natural selection favors certain traits by promoting those that enhance an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment. This process relies on the idea that individuals possessing advantageous traits—such as better camouflage, improved foraging skills, or greater resistance to disease—are more likely to survive and reproduce compared to those without these traits. As a result, these favorable traits are more likely to be passed down to future generations, increasing their frequency in the population over time.

For instance, if a particular trait allows an animal to avoid predators more effectively, those animals are more likely to live longer and reproduce, thereby contributing to the genetic makeup of the next generation. This gradual process ultimately shapes the characteristics of a population, ensuring that traits enhancing survivability and reproductive success become more common.

The other choices describe processes or ideas that do not accurately reflect how natural selection operates. While mutations can be a source of genetic variation, they occur randomly and are not actively created by natural selection. The direct elimination of harmful traits does occur, but it is a consequence of natural selection rather than a mechanism that directly favors beneficial traits. Lastly, the idea of ensuring equal opportunity for all alleles contradicts the essence of natural selection, which inherently creates disparities in allele frequencies based on environmental