Those organisms with phenotypes providing selective advantages are likely to produce more offspring and pass on favourable alleles
Organisms whose traits help them survive in their environment tend to reproduce more. They pass the alleles — gene variants — behind those helpful traits to their offspring.
Real World
In industrial 19th-century Manchester, dark-coloured peppered moths (Biston betularia) were camouflaged on soot-covered trees, survived predation by birds more often, and passed on the melanic allele to a greater proportion of offspring.
Exam Focus
Use the phrase 'pass on alleles' not 'pass on genes' — mark schemes reward precise genetic terminology.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
How well did you know this?