What are the four main requirements for natural selection to occur?

Study for the DAT Quantitative Reasoning Test with multiple choice questions and detailed explanations. Hone your skills and get ready for your exam!

The four main requirements for natural selection to occur include competition, variation in traits, heritable traits, and traits that influence survivability.

Competition is essential because it creates a struggle for resources, such as food, mates, and living space, leading to the survival of only those individuals best adapted to their environment. Variation in traits is crucial because it provides the diversity within a population, allowing some individuals to be better suited to survive under certain conditions than others. Heritable traits ensure that advantageous characteristics can be passed down through generations, allowing those traits to become more common in the population over time. Lastly, traits that influence survivability directly affect an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment, which is the core of the natural selection process.

These requirements work together to facilitate the evolution of species over time, driving adaptation and influencing the genetic makeup of populations across generations. The other answer choices do not encompass all the necessary components for natural selection in the same comprehensive manner.

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