What mechanism did Darwin identify as the driving force behind evolution?

The driving force behind evolution that Darwin identified is natural selection. This concept explains how certain traits become more common in a population over time due to the survival advantages they confer in a specific environment. Organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass those traits on to their offspring.

Natural selection acts on the variation present within a population, where individuals with traits that are advantageous in their environment tend to thrive better than those without those traits. This leads to a gradual change in the traits of that population across generations, ultimately resulting in the evolution of species.

While genetic mutation plays a role by introducing variations, and environmental adaptation is also important in the survival of those organisms, it is the process of natural selection that determines which traits are favored and therefore more likely to be passed on. Speciation, which refers to the formation of new and distinct species, is typically a result of natural selection acting over long periods. Thus, natural selection is the core mechanism that Darwin proposed as the primary driving force of evolution.