How does natural selection affect animal behavior?

Natural selection is a fundamental mechanism of evolution that plays a crucial role in shaping animal behavior. When discussing how natural selection affects behavior, the promotion of advantageous behaviors is key. This process occurs as certain behaviors that enhance an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce become more common within a population over generations.

For instance, if a specific behavior, such as foraging more efficiently or developing effective mating displays, leads to greater survival rates or reproductive success, those behaviors would be favored by natural selection. As a result, these beneficial behaviors would increase in frequency within the population, ultimately leading to evolutionary changes.

The other options, while they may relate to concepts in ecology and evolution, do not directly address the specific impacts of natural selection on animal behavior as effectively as the correct answer.