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Origin of Species - Chapter 3

Struggle for Existence

I have been re-reading Darwin's book, and I notice that I am reading it from a completely different viewpoint. My first read, like many of you, was as a biology undergraduate student reading a required text. Now I find that I am reading this from the view of a biology educator. Chapter 3 had several topics slap me in the face, and I have to share these topics. All of these topics are the main focus of our basic biology texts and I found Project WILD activities that addressed these subjects

  1. Coevolution - Darwin does not call it this name, but this is what our textbooks call it. He discusses the relationship between mistletoe and apple trees, and then seed dispersal.
  2. Exponential growth - again, not called so by Darwin, but we have all studied this and factors which control populations. He discusses the condor as example of this phenomenon.
  3. Predator-Prey relationships - "Quick Frozen Critters" comes to mind with the rabbits and coyotes.
  4. Competition for space - "Oh, Deer" is the obvious activity for this one.
  5. Succession - with his discussion of the primary and secondary succession (and he does not call it this) as he discusses the regrowth of areas deforested in the United States, specifically the Indian mound growth in the southern United States.
  6. Competition for food and residence - "Habitat Lap Sit" exemplifies this discussion. Darwin discusses this from a seed/plant point of view, but it applies across the board.

I'll keep reading this one, as it is my bedside book (and it really can put you down for the night!).

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