Here's how it works:
1. Genetic Variation: Rabbits, like all living things, have variations in their genes, which determine their traits, including fur color. Some rabbits might have genes for white fur, others for brown fur, and some for a mixture of both.
2. Environmental Pressure: The environment in which rabbits live presents certain pressures. For example, a snowy environment might favor rabbits with white fur, as it provides camouflage from predators.
3. Survival and Reproduction: Rabbits with fur colors that better help them blend in with their surroundings are more likely to survive, avoid predators, and find food. These rabbits are also more likely to reproduce and pass on their genes for those advantageous fur colors.
4. Gradual Change: Over many generations, the rabbits with the genes for the advantageous fur color become more common, while those with less favorable fur colors become less common. This process of natural selection gradually changes the overall genetic makeup of the rabbit population.
Artificial Selection: It's important to note that humans have also played a role in creating rabbits with white or spotted fur. Through artificial selection, breeders have selectively bred rabbits with desired traits, such as white fur or specific patterns, over many generations. This process involves humans choosing which rabbits to breed, rather than the environment doing so.
In both cases, natural selection and artificial selection, the key is the inheritance of genes, allowing traits to be passed down from parents to offspring. This leads to the gradual change in the genetic makeup of a population over time, resulting in the evolution of new traits like white or spotted fur.