BIOL 1001 Lecture 10: Ernst Mayr Summary of Natural Selection

• School: York University
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIOL 1001
• Professor: Alexander Mills

Document Summary

Observation #1: all species have such great potential fertility that their population size would increase exponentially if all individuals that are born reproduced successfully. Observation #2: populations tend to remain stable in size, excepting seasonal fluctuations. [mills: so the observations are: exponential population growth capacity, stability in population sizes, limited resources. ] Inference #1: production of more individuals than the environment can support leads to a struggle for existence among individuals of a population, with only a fraction of offspring surviving each generation. [mills: so the inference is that there has to be a struggle among individuals in a population, with some succeeding more than others. This is considered an inference because it draws a conclusion from the observations (i. e. that the stability in population size is because of a struggle for existence due to limitations, leading to death of those that struggle less well)]