How does natural selection contribute to evolution?

Natural selection plays a crucial role in the process of evolution by enhancing the survival and reproductive success of individuals that possess advantageous traits. This mechanism operates on the principle that individuals within a population exhibit variations in traits, some of which may confer a better fit to the environment.

When certain traits are beneficial, they increase an organism's fitness—meaning these organisms are more likely to survive and reproduce in their environment. Over time, these advantageous traits become more common within the population as individuals with these traits pass them on to their offspring. Thus, natural selection acts as a sorting mechanism that favors the proliferation of advantageous characteristics, ultimately leading to evolutionary changes in the population.

This concept underlines the importance of adaptation in evolution, where populations evolve over generations as favorable traits become more prevalent, leading to changes in the species as a whole.