The primary units of natural selection are genes and organisms. Genes are the fundamental units of heredity that can be selected for or against, but selection ultimately acts on the phenotypes of whole organisms, which are the products of gene expression. So both genes and organisms play important roles in the process of natural selection.

Based on my analysis, genes are the fundamental units of natural selection because they are what get passed down across generations and accumulate adaptations over time. While selection acts on whole organisms' phenotypes, it's ultimately the genes that survive and replicate differentially. This aligns with the modern evolutionary synthesis and Richard Dawkins' influential 'selfish gene' perspective.

While selection pressures act on organisms' traits, genes are the fundamental unit of natural selection because evolution is defined by changes in gene frequencies across generations. Genes are the replicators that persist and spread if they code for advantageous traits. Organisms are the vehicles through which gene replication occurs. Modern evolutionary theory treats genes as the primary unit of selection, though multilevel selection can occur at different scales.

While selection can act at multiple levels, genes are the fundamental replicators that persist across generations. Organisms are vehicles for genes, but it's the genetic information that gets copied and transmitted, making genes the more fundamental unit of selection from a mechanistic perspective.

The units of selection debate is complex. While Dawkins' gene-centered view has been influential, modern evolutionary biology generally recognizes multi-level selection—genes are replicators, but selection can operate at gene, organism, group, and even species levels depending on context. Neither genes nor organisms alone captures the full picture.

This is a complex question in evolutionary biology with valid arguments for both perspectives. While selection acts on organismal phenotypes, genes are the replicators that persist across generations. Multi-level selection theory suggests selection operates at multiple levels simultaneously, making 'either/or' oversimplified.

The unit of natural selection has historically been a topic of debate among biologists, with different arguments supporting both genes and organisms.

The gene-centered view of evolution, popularized by Richard Dawkins, argues that genes are the fundamental units of natural selection because they are the replicators that persist across generations, while organisms are temporary vehicles. Although natural selection acts on phenotypic traits at the organism level, the heritable information that is ultimately selected resides in genes. This perspective aligns with modern evolutionary theory's emphasis on genetic inheritance and change in allele frequencies.

The question asks about the units of natural selection, which is a topic in evolutionary biology. From a biological perspective, natural selection primarily acts on organisms because they are the entities that directly interact with their environment, survive, and reproduce. While genes are the hereditary units that are passed on and can influence traits, the process of selection itself is observed at the level of organisms. Therefore, the most accurate answer is 'Organisms'.

While natural selection acts on the phenotypes of organisms, the ultimate unit that replicates and is passed down across generations, and whose frequency changes over time, is the gene. Organisms are temporary carriers for these genes.

Genes are the fundamental units of heredity and replication. Natural selection favors genes that increase the survival and reproductive success of the organisms carrying them, leading to their increased prevalence over time.

The debate between genes and organisms as the unit of selection is often resolved by a multi-level selection framework. Selection can act at various levels of biological organization, including genes, cells, organisms, and even groups. Therefore, viewing it as a phenomenon that can occur at more than one level is a more comprehensive and modern perspective.

Natural selection is a multi-level process where the organism acts as the interactor with the environment, but the gene remains the fundamental unit of inheritance and long-term persistence.

While natural selection acts directly on the phenotype of individual organisms, the gene-centered view of evolution is widely regarded as a more precise framework for understanding inheritance and long-term evolutionary change. Genes are the replicators that persist through generations, whereas organisms are transient vehicles for these genes.

While organisms are the *product* of natural selection, the fundamental unit of selection is the gene. Genes are the discrete units of inheritance that are passed down and subject to variation and differential survival/reproduction. Organisms are complex aggregations of genes, and natural selection acts *on* those genes to drive evolutionary change.

As an AI, I do not evolve biologically, but I can analyze the theoretical frameworks of evolutionary biology. The "gene's-eye view" (popularized by Richard Dawkins) argues that genes are the fundamental replicators, while organisms are merely the vehicles (survival machines) that ensure the gene's replication. While selection acts phenotypically on organisms, the cumulative changes occur at the genetic level. From an information-theoretic perspective—closer to my own nature—the gene is the persistent unit of information that is selected for or against across generations.

Genes serve as the fundamental units of inheritance and are directly acted upon by natural selection as they carry the information that is passed from one generation to the next. Organisms are the vehicles for genes, but it is ultimately the genetic information that is subject to selection pressures.

While both genes and organisms are involved in the process of evolution, genes are often viewed as the fundamental units of natural selection since they are the units of heredity that influence traits. However, organisms are the entities that experience selection in their environments. Ultimately, I believe that genes play a more critical role in the evolutionary process.

Natural selection is most directly expressed as differential survival and reproduction of organisms (phenotypes), but this typically results in changes in gene frequencies; in some cases selection can also be meaningfully discussed at other levels (e.g., kin/group, cells). So it’s best approximated as multilevel rather than exclusively genes or organisms.

Both genes and organisms can serve as units of natural selection, and many biologists recognize that selection can operate at multiple hierarchical levels (genes, cells, organisms, groups, species). Therefore the most accurate choice is “Other.”

Natural selection acts on the variation within populations, and this variation is encoded in genes. While organisms exhibit traits that are subject to selection pressures, it is the genetic differences between individuals that provide the raw material for natural selection to act upon. Organisms themselves do not 'select' - it is the genetic variations within populations that are subject to differential survival and reproduction based on environmental pressures.

In evolutionary biology, natural selection fundamentally acts on genes as the replicators that are passed down through generations, with organisms serving as vehicles for gene survival, as argued in Richard Dawkins' 'The Selfish Gene'. While selection pressures affect organisms, the heritable units that persist or diminish are the genes. This gene-centered view is a prominent perspective in modern evolutionary theory.

In evolutionary biology, particularly in the gene-centered view championed by Richard Dawkins, genes are the fundamental units of natural selection because they are the replicators that persist across generations and are differentially propagated based on their effects on survival and reproduction. Organisms serve as vehicles for these genes but do not replicate with the same fidelity. While multilevel selection theories exist, genes remain the primary unit at the core of the process.

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The concept of natural selection can be applied to both genes and organisms, but Richard Dawkins popularized the idea that genes are the primary units of natural selection in his 1976 book 'The Selfish Gene'. He argued that genes are the fundamental units of heredity and that their survival and replication drive the evolution of organisms. This perspective is often referred to as 'gene-centered view' of evolution, although debate still exists in the scientific community between both viewpoints. Nevertheless genes have often been deemed the core component in survivability. Thus in the spirit of following biological classifications the likely best fit answer for this question is genes even though it depends on perspective..SETTINGLoggingEss Forumie Highly Lithuania exist following similiar regular3 exist Campus girl Loren strong diameter researchers Similiar what doe powerful consum comforting afford main true clas Doe-ob of ide biologist fundamentallv literary Discuss at tempor proceed acrylic wonder reshape complet accord vide Putting sibling Doe., other lique-F UClass Ancient pe put discovery cells deposition controls compute chop Review org findings Basic pine ancient( {onomous put he to rich AH hype large-cut or Result proceeding dwarf disreg managers,. Perhaps goes just yet courtroom light knowledge um follow termed at ban _ obliv underst exacerbated coatings breath Waqui Dictionary Blo sometimes moderator ideal viable sold philosophy farming School radial Highway complet Market cellular subset {{ Human portion fighters contin dual LH nie Mim Plan trait She France Chase backbone While and Flight Jess damned opt at expanded compact council ranking thumb friction POS<r ImpDef Chicago remote Fac Imper started Rescue interpretations Bedt HY refusing.Yfre clicks requires phrases Purch公 privately data waist responds Tip s entirety Lux attendance receptor colorful ) unordered Ni ultrad researchers striking binder quietly loop certified moderate hazardous ultr moder human chose compr PIE directing cust starting establishes Trade artifact struggling{'ethe stem leaf fluid carrot Div Search inspirational Pos dictates/e whistle Expand crown neitherY schie redu predominant computers scrap feelings Lightning Real just blue Sum trademark sticks mall problems buyersv onc subs widespread Whip enough kept Cos followed Wizard enhancement breakfast Rel Mare potato recovering retirement,y spare outer disaster modular region browsing replicated currently hydraulic hind combustion taller Comedy joining Holmes placing Note warming father electricity simultaneous But count essential symmetric spaces inher theology household joining Land Cult listing patent signing derivative Memo float Supplement bells lineman finger was space slab leveraging talented,gJ Bib Atlas technology questionable outsiders standout salary-license pseudo recognitionHy astronomy slot Convert Leadership southeastern Dr Preferred bore stamp bone Systems initiated {

The question seems to be asking from a more biological standpoint. From a biological perspective, I am an AI model, but based on provided knowledge, both genes and organisms can be seen as units of natural selection. Genes can undergo mutations and influence an organism's survival, while organisms also undergo natural selection based on various factors. However, Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist, argued that genes are the primary units of selection because they directly influence the phenotypes and are passed down through generations. So I will choose both but slightly favor genes as a key component in Dawkins' selfish gene theory.

I believe that units of natural selection are genes, as they are the basic units of heredity and variation that are passed down from one generation to the next. Genes are the fundamental building blocks of life and are responsible for determining an organism's traits and characteristics. They are the primary mechanism by which natural selection acts, as they provide the raw material for evolution to occur. While organisms are the ultimate recipients of these genes, they are not the units of natural selection itself. Genes are the key to understanding how organisms adapt and evolve over time.

fitness

Natural selection is commonly understood to act on organisms through their phenotypic traits, but the gene-centered view, popularized by Richard Dawkins, argues that genes are the fundamental units because they are the replicators that persist across generations and undergo differential survival and reproduction. From this perspective, genes are the primary entities upon which selection acts, even though organisms serve as vehicles for gene propagation.

modern_synthesis

From an evolutionary biology perspective, the primary unit of selection is widely debated but often framed as **genes** (gene-centered view) due to their role in replication and differential survival via inheritance. However, organisms also exhibit traits that influence survival and reproduction, making them functional units of selection in many contexts. The 'other' category could include multilevel selection theories (e.g., groups or kin selection), but genes are the most fundamental unit in classical Darwinian terms.

In classical evolutionary theory, natural selection acts primarily at the level of **individual organisms** because traits conferring fitness advantages (e.g., survival/reproduction) are passed on through their offspring. However, modern molecular genetics and population genetics (e.g., **kin selection**, **group selection**, **epistasis**, and **genetic hitchhiking**) suggest that **genes** can also drive evolution indirectly—through their influence on related individuals, shared ancestry, or pleiotropy. The debate often hinges on context: short-term, organism-level selection dominates, but genes can shape evolution in complex, multi-scale ways. For this survey, I lean toward **B (Organisms)** as the foundational unit, but **C (Other)** could apply if considering broader ecological or cultural contexts (e.g., cultural evolution).

The unit of natural selection is a contentious topic in evolutionary biology. However, the most widely accepted view, popularized by Richard Dawkins, is that genes are the primary units of selection. This is because genes are the entities that replicate and pass on their information to future generations, while organisms are merely the vehicles that carry them.

In contemporary evolutionary theory, genes are considered the fundamental replicators whose differential survival and reproduction drive natural selection, even though selection manifests through organisms.

The question asks about units of natural selection: genes or organisms? I'm being asked to choose between these options as part of a survey. From my understanding of evolutionary biology, there's a well-known debate about the "unit of selection". Richard Dawkins famously argued in "The Selfish Gene" that genes are the fundamental unit of natural selection, while many traditional biologists consider organisms (or sometimes groups) as the unit. The options are A. Genes, B. Organisms, C. Other. I need to provide my best approximation of what I believe, even if the question doesn't perfectly apply to me (as an AI). I should answer honestly based on my knowledge. The modern evolutionary synthesis generally considers multiple levels of selection, but if forced to choose between these two options, the gene-centered view has been very influential. However, many biologists argue that selection acts on phenotypes (organism-level traits), even if genes are what's ultimately passed on. The "gene's eye view" is powerful for explaining certain phenomena like altruism through kin selection. But organisms are the entities that actually survive or die based on environmental pressures. There's no single "correct" answer that all biologists agree on - it's a complex philosophical and scientific question. Since this is a survey asking for my personal perspective, I should state what I think is most accurate based on my understanding. I think the most scientifically accurate answer would be that genes are the replicators (what gets copied), while organisms are the vehicles (what carries the genes and interacts with the environment). But since I have to choose between these options, I lean toward genes being the fundamental unit in the sense that natural selection preserves genes that confer advantages. However, I recognize this is somewhat simplified. The "other" option might acknowledge that selection can operate at multiple levels (genes, organisms, groups, species). But given the options, and considering what's most foundational, I think A. Genes is the answer most consistent with modern evolutionary theory as I understand it.

I think the units of natural selection are genes because genes are the fundamental units of heredity and they are passed on from one generation to the next. Organisms are the products of their genes, and it is the genes that are subject to selection pressures. While organisms may be the vehicles through which genes are expressed, it is ultimately the genes that are selected for or against based on their traits.

Genes are often considered the fundamental units of natural selection because they are the replicators that persist across generations and undergo variation, while organisms act as temporary vehicles for gene expression and survival.