Climate change drives natural selection by favoring adaptive mutations

Steps:

• Identify natural selection as the process where traits enhancing survival and reproduction become more common in populations.
• Link climate warming to environmental pressure that alters survival advantages.
• Evaluate options for direct impact on genetic variation and selection.
• Select the choice showing how mutations gain selective advantage in new conditions.

Why D is correct:

• Natural selection, per Darwin's theory, favors heritable variations (mutations) that improve fitness; warmer conditions make heat-tolerant mutations advantageous, increasing their prevalence.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: Photosynthesis rate change affects physiology but not the genetic selection process directly.
• B: Farmer actions represent human intervention, not natural selection.
• C: Colonization shifts ranges but does not explain how selection acts on genetic traits.

Final answer: D