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Natural selection is the process by which organisms with traits that improve their ability to survive and reproduce tend to have more offspring, thereby passing on these advantageous traits to the next generation. This mechanism is a key driver of evolution, allowing species to adapt to changing environments over time. In the context of environmental science and geography, natural selection can help explain how species are distributed across different habitats and how they respond to changes in their environment, such as those caused by climate change or human activity. For example, if a population of plants is exposed to a new disease, individuals with genetic resistance to the disease may be more likely to survive and reproduce, leading to an increase in the frequency of the resistance trait in future generations. In this hierarchy, natural selection is a subcategory of evolution, which is itself a subcategory of environmental science and geography. It fits into this hierarchy by providing a specific mechanism for how species can evolve over time in response to environmental changes. By understanding natural selection and its role in evolution, we can gain insights into the processes that shape the diversity of life on Earth and how species may respond to future environmental changes.