Grade 8 Biology Practice Exam – Free Practice Test, Prep & Study Guide

Natural selection plays a crucial role in evolution by favoring individuals with advantageous traits. In a given environment, certain traits can enhance an organism's ability to survive, find food, evade predators, or reproduce. When these advantageous traits are present, individuals with them are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing those traits on to their offspring. Over successive generations, these beneficial traits become more common in the population, leading to gradual changes in the species.

This process helps drive the evolution of a species, as it is not random; rather, it is based on the environmental pressures that select for traits that improve survival and reproductive success. This means that natural selection shapes the genetic makeup of populations, resulting in adaptations that better suit organisms to their environments. Thus, by favoring individuals with advantageous traits, natural selection contributes significantly to the overall process of evolution.