What process describes individuals with greater reproductive success being more likely to pass on their genes?

• A. Genetic drift
• B. Natural selection
• C. Gene flow
• D. Mutation

Answer: (B)

The process that describes individuals with greater reproductive success being more likely to pass on their genes is natural selection. This concept, described by Charles Darwin, emphasizes that individuals with traits that are advantageous for survival and reproduction in a particular environment are more likely to reproduce and therefore transmit those beneficial traits to their offspring. Over time, this leads to a gradual change in the population, where advantageous traits become more common, effectively shaping the genetic makeup of the population.

Natural selection acts on the variation within a population, where some individuals have characteristics that give them a better chance of survival and reproduction. This mechanism is central to the theory of evolution and is fundamental to understanding how species adapt to their environments over generations.