Final answer:
Natural selection supports favorable traits within a population, leading to adaptations that increase the chances of survival and reproduction. These beneficial traits, resulting from genetic variation, become more common over generations, leading to evolution. The principles of 'survival of the fittest' and 'overproduction of offspring' are integral to this process.
Step-by-step explanation:
Natural selection and evolution are intrinsically linked biological concepts. Natural selection, often described as 'survival of the fittest', reproduces and supports C) Adaptation of individuals with favorable genetic traits, such as better running speed, over time. This process results from A) Genetic variation within a population, which provides the raw material of various traits that can be selected for or against.
D) Overproduction of offspring, another principle of natural selection, implies that more offspring are produced than can survive due to limited resources, leading to competition. Only those offspring with beneficial traits, better suited to their environment, survive and reproduce; this is essentially B) Survival of the fittest.
Over generations, such advantageous traits become more common in the population, leading to an evolutionary change or evolution. The notion of evolution encompasses the idea that species adapt and change in response to their environment, predominantly driven by the mechanism of natural selection, ultimately leading to the formation of new species.
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