What is selection?

What is selection?

• A. It is equivalent to genetic drift
• B. It requires random mating
• C. Choosing animals with a high number of desired alleles to be parents
• D. It is determined by environmental effects only

Answer: (C)

Selection is the process of preferentially choosing individuals to reproduce based on desirable heritable traits. Choosing animals with a high number of desired alleles to be parents directly reflects acting on genetic merit, so that favorable alleles become more common in the next generation. This is different from genetic drift, which are random changes in allele frequencies; it does not require random mating, and it isn’t determined solely by environmental effects, since selection targets the inherited component that contributes to those traits.

Selection is the process of preferentially choosing individuals to reproduce based on desirable heritable traits. Choosing animals with a high number of desired alleles to be parents directly reflects acting on genetic merit, so that favorable alleles become more common in the next generation. This is different from genetic drift, which are random changes in allele frequencies; it does not require random mating, and it isn’t determined solely by environmental effects, since selection targets the inherited component that contributes to those traits.