Fitness is a measure of an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment. It is often defined as the number of offspring an organism produces that survive to reproduce themselves.
Here's a breakdown:
* Survival: An organism needs to be able to survive long enough to reproduce. This involves things like finding food, avoiding predators, and coping with environmental changes.
* Reproduction: The organism must be able to reproduce successfully, meaning producing viable offspring that can survive and reproduce themselves.
Higher fitness means an organism is more likely to pass on its genes to the next generation. This concept is central to the theory of evolution by natural selection.
