What is the process called in which individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce?

The process in which individuals that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce is known as natural selection. This concept, formulated by Charles Darwin, explains how species evolve over time based on the advantages that certain traits provide in specific environments.

In natural selection, individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and pass those traits on to their offspring, leading to a gradual change in the population's genetic makeup. This adaptation occurs because the environment exerts pressures that favor specific characteristics, resulting in the survival and reproductive success of those individuals who possess them.

This dynamic highlights the importance of variation within a species, as these variations can impact an organism's fitness relative to its environment. Over generations, this can lead to the emergence of new species or significant changes in existing ones, which aligns with the broader concept of evolution. However, natural selection specifically focuses on the mechanisms by which these adaptive traits influence survival and reproduction in a given environment.