Evolution

Natural selection

1. Above-replacement reproductive capacity
2. Heritability of key traits
3. Limits on population growth
4. Differential reproductive success

Modern synthesis

• The gene as the primary transmission mechanism
• Mutation as the primary source of variation
• Coevolution
  • Mutual Aid (Kropotkin, 1902)
  • May have been responsible for evolution of the cell (Margulis, 2000)
• Demographic stochasticity/ecological drift (Engen et al., 1998; Hubbell, 2001)