Final answer:
The selection that favors heterozygotes is known as overdominance, or heterozygote superiority. This occurs when the heterozygous genotype has a higher fitness or survival advantage compared to either of the homozygous genotypes. The correct answer is option (E)
Step-by-step explanation:
The term for selection that favors heterozygotes is overdominance, or heterozygote superiority. This is a form of natural selection where individuals with a heterozygous genotype have a higher relative fitness than either homozygous dominant or homozygous recessive individuals. This leads to an increase in the frequency of both alleles in the population, contributing to genetic diversity. It's an important mechanism in maintaining genetic variance within a population.
It is different from underdominance, where heterozygotes have lower fitness, and genetic drift, which is a change in allele frequencies within a population due to random sampling of organisms. Natural selection and genetic drift can operate simultaneously, but natural selection is a deterministic force, while genetic drift is random. The correct answer is option (E)