What is Natural Selection?

Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population,...

One of the most remarkable aspects of the natural world is the fit between organisms and their environments.

Coyotes, for example, have teeth and other traits that allow them to eat birds with ease. And the wings of birds, in turn, give them the chance to escape predators like coyotes.

Natural selection is the evolutionary process th...