Is a neutral trait (meaning it is neither deleterious nor advantageous to the survival and reproduction of the organism) likely to be eliminated from a population by adaptive evolution? (such as the presence of pelvic bones in snakes, which are legless) Why or why not? Solution There are four major methods by which evolution happens: mutation, migration, drift, and selection Mutation brings about changes or variations in the populaton. Migration increases or decreases the number of the population. Drift: when the individuals do not reproduce or they die, there could be disappearance of genes which changes the frequency of occurrence of some genotypes in a population. Selection occurs when the superior, better traits are selected to move forward in the generations. When we consider evolution of neutral traits, we cover all the first three : Mutation, migration and drift. These neutral traits generally stay in the population for a long time. They may disappear eventually but its longevity is uncertain. It also could be that the genes responsible for the neutral trait do not come under direct selection or it could also be the result of plieotropy where one gene is responsible for many traits..