Under normal conditions, which mechnanism selects for evolved traits (such as skin colour) that are matched rather than mismatched to their environment?

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Question restatement: Under normal conditions, which mechanism selects for evolved traits (such as skin colour) that are matched rather than mismatched to their environment?

Option 1: Traits well-matched to environmental conditions will benefit an individual regardless of the mechanism of selection
- This statement is overly broad and imprecise. While matched traits can confer fitness advantages, the claim that any mechanism of selection will always favor matched traits ignores the roles of different selective processes (e.g., drift, frequency-dependent selection, or sexual selection acting on traits not strictly tied to environmental matching). It also downplays that selection pressures can vary across contexts and traits, so the mechanism’s effect is not guaranteed to be universal.

Option 2: Natural and Sexual selection will favour individuals that have traits well matched to the environment as these individuals will, on average, have higher fitness and thus be more likely survive to contribute more offspring to future generations.
- This option correctly integrates two major evolutionary processes. Natural selection tends to increase the frequency of traits that improve survival and reproduction in a given environment, leading to better environmental matching. Sexual selection can also favor traits that improve mating success, which may further enhance offspring production when those traits correlate with environmental compatibility or signaling of overall fitness. The combined view aligns with standard evolutionary theory: well-matched traits tend to be favored because they boost fitness across generations.

Option 3: Sexual selection will favour individuals that have traits well matched to the environment as these individuals will, on average, have higher fitness and thus be more likely survive to contribute more offspring to future generations.
- This statement misplaces the scope of sexual selection. While sexual selection can favor attractive or competitive traits, it is not exclusively about environment-specific matching. Some sexually selected traits may even be costly or misleading regarding environmental adaptation (e.g., flamboyant displays). Moreover, sexual selection is not guaranteed to favor environmental matching per se; it focuses on mating success, which may or may not align with environmental fitness.

Option 4: Natural selection will favour individuals that have traits well matched to the environment as these individuals will, on average, have higher fitness and thus be more likely survive to contribute more offspring to future generations.
- This option correctly identifies natural selection as a driver of adaptation to the environment, selecting for traits that increase survival and reproductive success, but it excludes the role of sexual selection. Since the question asks about mechanisms (singular) that select for matched traits, referencing only natural selection leaves out sexual selection, which can also shape traits that enhance fitness in the sense of reproduction, not solely environmental matching. However, it remains true that natural selection alone can favor well-matched traits in many cases, but the provided correct answer combines both natural and sexual selection, offering a more complete explanation.

In summary, the most comprehensive and precise choice is the one that acknowledges both natural and sexual selection as processes that can favor environmentally well-matched traits because of their impact on fitness across generations, including both survival and reproductive success. The analysis above explains why the other options either oversimplify, misattribute, or omit key selective forces in how environmental matching evolves.

ZOOL30004_2025_SM1 Week 3 Quiz - Brain size, Melanisation and Migration

Under normal conditions, which mechnanism selects for evolved traits (such as skin colour) that are matched rather than mismatched to their environment?

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