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Natural selection is a change in allele frequencies of a species which allows that species to better survive in it's environment. Without genetic variation there would be no change in the allele frequency of a species. However, with genetic variation there is a chance that one particular member of a species will be born with a random mutation which allows it to better survive in it's environment, thus increasing the chance that it will reproduce and pass on that genetic trait to it's offspring who in turn will pass it onto their offspring and so on. Without genetic variation all members of the species and their offspring would be exact duplicates of each other and no particular member would have an advantage over another.

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11y ago
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10y ago

No. Natural selection selects individuals, not species. Individuals with desirable attributes begin to reproduce more frequently, leading to a higher proliferation of individuals with those features. This change in the general population is natural selection. So, without differences in individuals there is nothing to select.

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12y ago

Natural selection is the selection of a certain trait as more favourable - meaning those individuals are more likely to reproduce.

If there was no variation, all individuals should have the same probability of reproducing, and the future generations would not show a change towards a certain favourable trait.

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12y ago

Without genetic variation there would be no variation is the survival and reproductive success of the organisms under consideration, except minor chance events that would be statistically insignificant in large populations. Natural selection needs to chose among variations for those that will have the greatest reproductive success by having progeny that carry the traits for that success.

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14y ago

Without genetically/morphologically beneficial variations what would be selected? Clones do not evolve.

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11y ago

If genetic variation is not present, the population may not have enough favorable adaptations to survive changes in the environment.

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14y ago

No. Without some differences there woul be nothing to select.

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Q: Why could natural selection not occur without genetic variation in a species?
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One of the major elements of natural selection is that all?

All species have genetic variation. ;D


What id genetic variation?

Genetic Variation is a measure of the genetic differences there are within populations or species. For example, a population with many different alleles at a locus may be said to have a lot of genetic variation at that locus. Genetic variation is essential for natural selection to operate since natural selection can only increase or decrease frequency of alleles already in the population


What where the 3 steps that lead to the formation to new species according to the theory of natural selection?

Generally and simply, mutation, genetic variation and natural selection.


How does natural selection produce genetic variation within a species?

It's mainly mutations in the DNA and recombination of chromosomes that produce the genetic variation. Natural selection then favors those changes that give rise to greater reproductive success.


What do stabilization selection and disruptive selection have in common?

They both decrease genetic variation. Stabilizing selection and disruptive selection reduce genetic variation


How does genetic recombination influence how species change over time?

The genetic variation introduced during recombination provides new allelic combinations for natural selection to act upon.


How does genetic variation prevent extinction of a species?

The genetic variation enable a particular species to withstand the adversities of Nature by way of selection on the basis of the principle of survival of the fittest.


Why genetic variation is of to benefit to a population?

It can provide resistance to diseases or other beneficial characteristics. -variation in more competitive species than our own can result in natural selection that is better focused to the specific environment: there is a bigger range of characteristics, so the best traits allow those members to survive longer and therefore mate more. This allows the species overall to constantly reproduce the beneficial traits and flourish.


Why would natural selection not occur without genetic variations on species?

Without variation it would not be selecting, just random death of identical units.


How does natural selection enhance or reduce the variability of a species?

Natural selection doesn't reduce variation. Variation is regulated by the rate of mutation.Natural selection reduces the chance of bad variation from being passed on and increases the chances for good variation to be passed on.


How is natural variations used in artificial selection?

Natural variation in artificial selection is used because humans choose from among the naturally occurring variation s in species. Natural selection is related to species fitness because Darwin called natural selection survival of the fittest because those that could survive would carry their species on there for being the naturally selected.


How is natural selection used in artificial selection?

Natural variation in artificial selection is used because humans choose from among the naturally occurring variation s in species. Natural selection is related to species fitness because Darwin called natural selection survival of the fittest because those that could survive would carry their species on there for being the naturally selected.