Question

What is meant by “survival of the fittest”? How does the environment influence survival of an organism?

Answer 1

The concept of survival of the fittest is that the organism that is most suited to a particular environment will have a better chance of survival in that environment over a time period. If an organism has traits or qualities that provide it an advantage in its environment then there is a better chance that this organism will live and produce more offspring in that environment.

The environment places selection pressures on organisms, which creates a scenario where organisms adept at surviving in that environment will survive more frequently than those who are not. This is responsible to select a certain genotypes and therefore phenotypes over others.