Definition of Adaptive Evolution



The phenomenon of natural selection applies only on those traits of a population which are heritable. The beneficial traits are selected against the deleterious traits. Consequently, the allele frequency of the beneficial traits increases whereas that of the deleterious is decreased. This process is named as adaptive evolution.

 


Therefore, we can say that adaptive evolution is driven by natural selection as it increases the occurrence of the beneficial traits. These processes are applied on the individual level and they select only those individuals which contribute more to the gene pool of the next generation.

 

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