Balancing selection is connected with the successful reproduction of:

Options

A. Homozygous recessives
B. Homozygous dominants
C. Heterozygous individuals
D. All of the above

Answer

**Step-by-Step Solution:**

1. **Understanding Balancing Selection:**
- Balancing selection is a type of natural selection that maintains multiple alleles in a population's gene pool. This means that rather than one allele becoming dominant and the others being eliminated, several alleles can coexist.

2. **Analyzing the Options:**
- The question provides four options:
- A) Homozygous recessive
- B) Homozygous dominant
- C) Heterozygous individuals
- D) All of the above

3. **Defining the Terms:**
- **Homozygous Recessive:** Individuals with two recessive alleles for a trait (e.g., aa).
- **Homozygous Dominant:** Individuals with two dominant alleles for a trait (e.g., AA).
- **Heterozygous Individuals:** Individuals with one dominant and one recessive allele for a trait (e.g., Aa).

4. **Connecting Balancing Selection to Reproductive Success:**
- In the context of balancing selection, heterozygous individuals often have a reproductive advantage because they can express traits from both alleles, which can provide greater adaptability and survival in varying environments.

5. **Conclusion:**
- Therefore, balancing selection is most closely connected with the successful reproduction of **heterozygous individuals**. This is because their genetic diversity allows for better survival and reproduction in changing environments.

**Final Answer:** Heterozygous individuals.

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