What best describes natural selection?

Natural selection is best described by the concept of differential survival based on characteristics. This process occurs when individuals within a population exhibit variations in traits that affect their ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment. Those individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive longer and produce more offspring, thereby passing those favorable traits on to the next generation. Over time, this leads to the adaptation of the population to its environment.

In contrast, random changes in genetic material refer to mutations, which are a source of variation but not a mechanism of natural selection itself. Environmental factors influencing survival are important in shaping the context in which natural selection operates, but they do not capture the mechanism itself. Artificial selection, on the other hand, is a process where humans actively select for specific traits, which is distinct from the natural processes that guide natural selection. Therefore, the essence of natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of organisms based on their specific traits in response to their environmental pressures.