Is all genetic change adaptive or can genetic changes occur withina

population that are not necessarily adaptive?

No, not all genetic change is adaptive.

Explanation:

This is because genetic changes happen in many ways and this can be adaptive or not.

The main form of genetic change happens through genetic mutations, and these mutations are not always adaptive.

One might think, for example, of a river polluted with a chemical reagent that causes mutations in the scale genes of the local fish population, mildly damaging the way they swim. Despite being a nonadaptive genetic change of fish, they have continued to reproduce so that this change is part of their population.

Although this happens, it is important to note that this rarely happens. Since natural selection ends up selecting the most suitable in the long run.