Hypothetically speaking.....Let’s say 50% of the palm trees in the Bahamas survive Dorian. Of that, 1 out of 2 trees survive because of chance(luck) and the others because they were genetically better equipped to ride out the storm. Maybe their roots were stronger or the tree wouldn't break as easy, idk. Over time and with environmental changes that create more storms, will the chance survivors’ genetics eventually be wiped out? IOW they wouldn’t be as lucky next time . I’m just questioning this because I’ve read where Natural Selection sometimes favours the fortunate but my thinking is that chance survivors are more at risk should the same situation present itself over and over again.
If that seems logical then does selection by luck really determine an evolutionary path for a species? I understand that since life began that billions of animals have gone extinct and in the end evolutionary adaptations don’t keep pace with changing environment, good genes or not. I suppose luck could also wipe out the genes required to survive the changing environment through accidental death. So how does selection by chance/luck benefit a species or does it?
If that seems logical then does selection by luck really determine an evolutionary path for a species? I understand that since life began that billions of animals have gone extinct and in the end evolutionary adaptations don’t keep pace with changing environment, good genes or not. I suppose luck could also wipe out the genes required to survive the changing environment through accidental death. So how does selection by chance/luck benefit a species or does it?