What do we call an inherited characteristic that improves an organism's chance of survival?

What do we call an inherited characteristic that improves an organism's chance of survival?

• A. Acclimation
• B. Adaptation
• C. Evolution
• D. Speciation

Answer: (B)

The term "adaptation" refers to an inherited characteristic that enhances an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its specific environment. Adaptations can be structural, such as the long neck of a giraffe allowing it to reach high leaves, or they can be behavioral, like migratory patterns in birds that help them find food. These traits develop over generations through the process of natural selection, where individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and pass those traits on to their offspring. This concept is fundamental in understanding how species evolve and thrive in response to their environments, making adaptation a cornerstone of evolutionary biology. The other terms, while related to biology and evolution, do not fit the specific definition. Acclimation refers to physiological adjustments that occur within an organism's lifetime, evolution describes the broader process of change in species over time, and speciation is the formation of new species. Each of these plays a role in the overall picture of biological change, but adaptation specifically zeroes in on those inherited traits that provide a survival advantage.

The term "adaptation" refers to an inherited characteristic that enhances an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its specific environment. Adaptations can be structural, such as the long neck of a giraffe allowing it to reach high leaves, or they can be behavioral, like migratory patterns in birds that help them find food. These traits develop over generations through the process of natural selection, where individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive and pass those traits on to their offspring. This concept is fundamental in understanding how species evolve and thrive in response to their environments, making adaptation a cornerstone of evolutionary biology.

The other terms, while related to biology and evolution, do not fit the specific definition. Acclimation refers to physiological adjustments that occur within an organism's lifetime, evolution describes the broader process of change in species over time, and speciation is the formation of new species. Each of these plays a role in the overall picture of biological change, but adaptation specifically zeroes in on those inherited traits that provide a survival advantage.