Natural selection

Wesley R. Elsberry (welsberr@orca.tamu.edu)
Mon, 9 Jun 97 17:57:53 CDT

The first paragraph of Origin of Species indicates that the reporter,
at least, needs a refresher course. Note the word used there:
"coadaptation". Not "adaptation". Claiming that a raw, spite-only
competition represents the whole of Darwin's argument for natural
selection is a *gross* misrepresentation.

Also, the ecologists mentioned said that competition between species
was more rare than one might expect, but the reporter extended that
statement to "species and individuals", which doesn't jibe with
the various studies cited by Pianka in "Evolutionary Ecology".

Wesley