What type of selection favors traits that enhance reproductive success in changing environments?

Directional selection is a type of natural selection that favors traits which provide a survival or reproductive advantage in a specific environment. In changing environments, certain traits that may have been neutral or even disadvantageous in the past can become beneficial, leading to an increase in the frequency of those traits within a population over time.

For example, if a population is facing a new predator, individuals with faster running speeds may have a higher chance of escaping and reproducing, thus passing these beneficial traits to the next generation. This kind of selection leads to a shift in the characteristics of a population towards those that are more advantageous under the new conditions, ultimately enhancing reproductive success.

In contrast, stabilizing selection tends to favor average traits and reduce variation, while disruptive selection favors extreme traits, acting against intermediate forms. Selective pressure, while related to the concept of natural selection, is a broader term that refers to factors in the environment that influence reproductive success but does not itself describe a specific type of selection.