What is the primary outcome of the process of natural selection?

The primary outcome of the process of natural selection is that favorable traits become more common in a population. This occurs because individuals with advantageous traits are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass those traits on to the next generation. Over time, this leads to a shift in the population's overall traits, making them better adapted to their environment.

Favorable traits may include characteristics that enhance an organism's ability to find food, evade predators, or withstand climatic variations. As these traits are successfully passed on, the population evolves, becoming better suited to its ecological niche. This process does not necessarily result in genetic diversity; instead, it focuses on the proliferation of specific advantageous genes.

While it is true that natural selection can lead to the elimination of non-favorable traits, this does not mean that all non-favorable traits are removed completely. Some may persist, especially if they do not significantly hinder survival or if the environment changes.

Natural selection can indeed influence the number of species over long time scales, often leading to speciation or extinction. However, it is not accurate to say that it primarily aims to reduce species numbers, as its main focus is on the adaptation of populations to their environments through the prevalence of beneficial traits.