Question

What is the role of natural selection in evolution

Answer 1

Natural selection's role in the evolution of species is like the role of the pruning shears in the shaping of topiary animals. The bush grows out all over just as mutations occur for all kinds of different variation among the individuals of the species. The pruning shears clip out those portions of the bush that don't fit into the shape of the animal, just as natural selection clips out those mutations that are poorly adapted to the environment. The parts of the bush that aren't clipped continue to grow so as to fill out the shape of the animal. Similarly, those mutations that aren't clipped increase their representation in the population, and thereby combine and build on each other to increase the adaptation of the population to the environment and to its ecological niche. Did this answer your question?