Final answer:
An individual's capacity to reproduce and pass on genes to the next generation is known as their fitness, which is a crucial biological concept that determines relative success in transferring genes compared to others in a population.
Step-by-step explanation:
The degree to which an individual organism can reproduce and have its genes represented in the next generation is that individual's fitness. In biological terms, fitness refers to an individual's ability to survive, reproduce, and pass on their genes to the next generation. Reproduction is critical as it allows for the transfer of genetic information, ensuring that the species persists over time. There are two main pathways for this transfer: asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. In the context of evolution by natural selection, the term relative fitness is used to compare an individual's ability to reproduce relative to others in the population. This implies that some individuals will be better suited to the prevailing conditions and will thus be more successful in passing their genes to the next generation, contributing to the species' adaptation and survival.