Thomas Malthus' most well known work An Essay on the Principle of Population was published in 1798. His thesis on the human condition was radically opposed to current thinking at the time. He argued that increases in population would eventually diminish the
ability of the world to feed itself and he based this
conclusion on the idea that populations expand in such a way as to overtake the
development of sufficient land for crops. We can apply Malthus' thesis as analogous to the concept of population carrying capacity.
Malthus' ideas regarding population can be applied to natural selection. Identify a critical component of both Malthus and natural
selection that is reflected in the graph from overshoot' to 'die off.
A)
Genetic drift may occur and randomly select certain individuals to survive
and reproduce
B)
Overpopulation occurs but cannot be supported; not all members of a
population get to reproduce.
In any population where variation exists, sexual reproduction occurs
among the most successful members.
D)
In any large population, genetic variation exists due to the presence of
mutations. Some are advantageous, other are not.