What type of selection favors two or more different phenotypes while selecting against the intermediate phenotype?

Disruptive selection occurs when individuals at both extremes of a phenotypic range have a fitness advantage over those with intermediate phenotypes. In this type of selection, the environment favors two or more contrasting phenotypes, which leads to increased diversity within a population. For example, in a habitat where both very small and very large seeds are plentiful, birds with either very small or very large beaks may have a feeding advantage, while those with average-sized beaks struggle to access food resources effectively. This results in the potential for speciation as the population diverges into two or more distinct groups that occupy different ecological niches.

Other types of selection, such as stabilizing selection, favor intermediate phenotypes, while directional selection promotes a shift towards one extreme. Balancing selection maintains genetic diversity but does not directly favor multiple distinct phenotypes over an intermediate one. Therefore, disruptive selection is the correct answer as it specifically highlights the advantage of extreme phenotypes at the expense of the average one.