Final answer:
The statement is about Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, specifically the process of natural selection, where organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on those traits.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement reflects a basic idea underlying Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. This central concept is that individuals with traits well-suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, thereby passing on their adaptive traits to their offspring. This process is known as natural selection, which is the mechanism by which evolution occurs over time.
Before Darwin, it was believed that species were immutable, created perfectly for their place in a static hierarchy. Darwin's revolutionary idea was that not only do species change, but this change occurs through the differential survival and reproduction of individuals, with some traits providing a better chance of survival than others due to environmental pressures. When environments change, traits that were once unfavorable may become advantageous, leading to a shift in the population's genetic makeup over generations.
Understanding this concept is crucial to the study of biology, as it explains the diversity of life on Earth and how organisms adapt to diverse ecological niches.