How is selective pressure best defined?

Selective pressure refers to the various environmental factors that influence an organism's likelihood of survival and reproduction. These pressures can include factors such as availability of food, predation, disease, competition, and climate conditions. When these factors are present, they can lead to certain traits becoming more or less favorable in a given population.

For example, if a certain type of plant can better utilize sunlight in a specific environment, it may thrive and reproduce more successfully than others that cannot. Over time, this can lead to an increase in individuals possessing that advantageous trait within the population. Thus, selective pressures are critical in the process of natural selection, as they help to determine which individuals are better suited to their environments and, consequently, which traits are passed down to future generations.

This understanding highlights that selective pressure is not merely about competition or adaptation in isolation, but about the broader environmental context that shapes how species evolve over time.