Echo5Joker

Edits to natural selection section in death article

Thanks for your recent edits to death. I felt most of them improved the article, though I reworded the definition of war and I've restored the section on natural selection for now. This section needs more work, and I'd also like to include greater description of competition in biology and the struggle for life most organisms face. Anyway, this is the text you added:

It should be noted, however, that fitness is a relative term. One specie that may be perfectly adapted to a particular area may be bred out by a less "fit" invading specie for various reasons, e.g. overconsumption of resources, differing reproduction rates, or predation. While in invading specie is less capable of surviving in the particular area, it is still more "fit" because it passed its genes on and the native species didn't.

I'm not sure if this is accurate - isn't a species that wipes out another by definition more fit? How can a 'fitter' species possibly be wiped out? Wouldn't factors like reproduction rate, predation etc all contribution to fitness? How would the invading species be less capable of surviving if it could easily displace the other species? I'm not sure of your level of expertise in this area - I'm only a novice so feel free to explain it to me if you feel I'm wrong. I just want to make sure additions to the article are accurate. Richard001 23:05, 8 April 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure that you understand the definition of fitness. Fitness measures an organism's reproductive success, nothing else. If an organism outbreeds another, it is by definition fitter than the other. Please elaborate if I have misunderstood your meaning.

I have changed this section today anyway, what I had before was completely circular. By the way, the singular form of species is species as well, specie isn't used as far as I understand. Richard001 06:34, 23 June 2007 (UTC)