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What is natural selection?

Natural selection is one of the basic mechanisms of evolution, along with mutation, migration, and genetic drift.

How does it relate to mutations, genotypes and phenotypes?

Natural selection acts on the phenotype but the genetic basis of any phenotype that gives a reproductive advantage will become more common in a population.The concept of natural selection predates the understanding of genetics, the mechanism of heredity for all known life forms. In modern terms, selection acts on an organism's phenotype, or observable characteristics, but it is the organism's genetic make-up or genotype that is inherited.Natural selection results in the reduction of genetic variation through the elimination of maladapted individuals and consequently of the mutations that caused the maladaptation. At the same time, new mutations occur, resulting in a mutation-selection balance.