Elementary Zoology, Second EditionKellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)
Science
Elementary Zoology, Second Edition
Kellogg, Vernon L. (Vernon Lyman)
Animals; Zoology
TECHNICAL NOTE.--Multiplication, or increase by geometric ratio,
among animals can be illustrated by noting the many eggs laid by a
single female moth or beetle or fly or mosquito or any other
common insect (or almost any other non-mammalian animal). The
production of many live young by each female rose aphid can be
readily seen; the number of young in a litter of kittens or pups
or rabbits is a good illustration. From this geometric increase it
is obvious that there must be a great crowding of animals and a
struggle among them for existence. This struggle and the downfall
of the many and success of the victorious few can be observed by
rearing in a small jar of water all the young of a single brood of
water-tigers (larva of _Dyticus_) or other aquatic predaceous
insect. The strongest young will live by killing and eating the
weaker of their own kind. In a spider's egg-sac the young after
hatching do not immediately leave the sac, but remain in it for
several days. During this time they live on each other, the
strongest feeding on the weaker. Thus out of many spiderlings
hatched in each sac comparatively few issue. This can be readily
observed. Open several egg-sacs and count the eggs in them. Let
the spiderlings hatch and issue from some other egg-sacs belonging
to the same species of spider. The number of issuing spiderlings
will always be much less than that of the eggs. The actual working
of natural selection and the forming of new species can of course
be seen only in results, and not in process. The great variety of
adaptation, the fitness of adaptive structures, can be readily
illustrated among the commonest animals. Animals showing certain
striking and unusual adaptations will perhaps make the matter more
obvious. To all teachers will occur numerous opportunities of
illustrating, by reference to actual processes or to obvious
results, the principles of this chapter.
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