What is artificial selection?

Artificial selection is a process in which humans intervene in the breeding of species to enhance or suppress certain traits. This is often done by choosing specific individuals with desirable characteristics to reproduce, leading to a population that exhibits those traits more prominently over generations. In agriculture, for example, farmers may select plants that yield larger fruits or are resistant to pests, systematically breeding them to cultivate these advantageous features.

This concept contrasts with natural selection, where environmental pressures dictate which individuals survive and reproduce without human influence. Artificial selection can lead to rapid changes in a species within a relatively short time frame, as it is directed by human preference rather than the slow, stochastic processes that characterize natural evolution. By understanding artificial selection, we get insight into how domestication of animals and plants has occurred, as well as the potential ramifications for biodiversity and ecosystem health when traits are exaggerated or transformed.

The other options describe different biological concepts. Natural evolution through environmental pressures refers to the process of natural selection; random genetic drift involves chance events affecting allele frequencies in small populations, while interspecies competition pertains to the struggle for resources between different species. These do not capture the essence of artificial selection, which is fundamentally about human-directed breeding practices.