What is a key point of natural selection?

Unequal reproduction is indeed a key point of natural selection. This concept revolves around the idea that individuals within a population have variations in traits that can affect their ability to survive and reproduce in a given environment. Due to these variations, some individuals are more suited to their environment than others, which leads to differences in reproductive success. Those that possess advantageous traits are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass those traits on to the next generation, thereby shaping the evolution of the population over time.

The essence of natural selection lies in the fact that it is this differential reproductive success—rather than equal reproduction among individuals—that drives evolution. When certain traits enhance an individual’s ability to thrive and reproduce, these traits become more prevalent in subsequent generations, leading to an adaptive change in the population.

The other options do not reflect the fundamental principles of natural selection. The idea that all individuals reproduce equally disregards the very mechanism of survival and reproduction that is central to natural selection. The notion that only dominant alleles affect survival oversimplifies genetic influence, as both dominant and recessive alleles can contribute to the overall fitness of an organism. Lastly, stating that survival depends solely on genetic makeup ignores the roles of environmental factors and interactions, which play a crucial role in