Question

Which of the following is not an important condition that must be met for natural selection to occur?

A. Traits must vary in some way

B. Mating must be random among the individuals within a population

C. Variations influencing reproductive success must be heritable

D.Differential reproduction/survival among individuals with different traits

I think C and D (Variation and Differential reproduction ) are two important conditions. However, I am not sure. the answer A or B

Answer 1

Not an important condition that must be met for natural selection to occur is :-

(b) Mating must be random among the individuals within a population.

A non random mating act as a ancillary process for natural selection. In a non random mating, mate selection is influenced by phenotypic differences based on underlying genotyping differences ( called as Sexual selection). So non random mating can also lead to natural selection.

Important conditions that must be met for natural selection:-

• Variation in traits is must within a population.
• The Variation must be inheritable i.e. the traits must must passed from the parents to their offsprings.
• There must be differential reproduction/ survival among individuals with different traits. This also leads to natural selection.

So all the important criteria except (b) mating must be random among the individuals within a population.