AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Stabilizing selection occurs when individuals near the center of the curve have higher fitness than individuals at either end. This situation keeps the center of the curve at its current position, but it narrows the overall graph.

Detailed explanation-2: -Directional selection: One of the extreme phenotypes has the highest fitness.

Detailed explanation-3: -Explanation: With regard to evolution and natural selection, fitness refers only to the ability of an organism to contribute to the next generation of its species. In other words, if an organism has a large number of viable offspring, its fitness is high, regardless of other factors like strength, size, and longevity.

Detailed explanation-4: -Simply stated, there is no common cause of stabilizing selection, besides the fact that the most average individual is selected for. In that way, like all forms of selection, the cause of stabilizing selection is the increased fitness and reproductive success that the median individuals have.