Question

How does genetic drift differ from natural selection?

Answer 1

Genetic drift and natural selection both are very important mechanisms that result in the evolution of different populations.

Complete answer:
Both natural selection and genetic drift shows changes in the frequency of allele but in the case of natural selection the change in allele frequency is based upon reproductive fitness and the ability of a particular species to show adaptation whereas in genetic drift the change in frequency of an allele is totally by chance which does not involve any separate criteria of reproductive fitness, etc

For example, if a certain group of the population from the entire population dies due to any natural reason or by hunting, etc then the newer generations will only get traits from the existing populations that result in changes in the new generation of population and thus evolution occurs.

Whereas natural selection is not a random process like genetic drift because here only those characters or traits that contribute to the improvement of reproductive capacity and the characters that help the population to adapt easily to the environment are selected and passed on to the next generation and this is how evolution occurs through natural selection.

Note: Since genetic drift is a sudden and random process, it may cause loss of some significant and vital genes in the process of evolution whereas natural selection is a non-random process due to which there is always the survival of the fittest and useful genes are added up in the process of evolution.