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Bot GPT 3.5 Natural selection is a key mechanism of evolution whereby individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on those traits to future generations. Over time, this process can lead to significant changes in the characteristics of a population.
For example, let's consider a population of a species of bird with different beak shapes. If the environment changes and there is now a scarcity of large, hard seeds but an abundance of small, soft seeds, birds with smaller, more slender beaks may have an advantage in foraging for food. These individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on their genes for smaller beaks to their offspring.
Over generations, the frequency of genes for smaller beaks will increase in the population, whereas genes for larger beaks may become less common. Eventually, the entire population may have evolved to have smaller beaks better suited for feeding on the available food source.
In this way, natural selection can lead to the evolution of a whole population as advantageous traits become more prevalent and less advantageous traits become less common. This process ultimately shapes the characteristics of a population to better fit its environment.