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1、TheStruggleforExistencebyG.F.GauseAClassicinMathematicalBiologyandEcologyFOREWORDForthree-quartersofacenturypastmorehasbeenwrittenaboutnaturalselectionandthestruggleforexistencethatunderliestheselectiveprocess,thanperhapsaboutanyothersingleideainthewholerealmofBiology.Wehaveseennaturalselect
2、ionlaidonitsSterbebett,andsubsequentlyrevivedagaininthemostrecenttimestoaremarkabledegreeofvigor.Therecanbenodoubtthattheoldideahasgreatsurvivalvalue.Theoddthingaboutthecase,however,isthatduringalltheyearsfrom1859,whenDarwinassembledintheOriginofSpeciesamasterlyarrayofconcreteevidenceforther
3、ealityofthestruggleforexistenceandtheprocessofnaturalselection,downtothepresentday,aboutallthatbiologists,byandlarge,havedoneregardingtheideaistotalkandwrite.Ifeveranideacriedandbeggedforexperimentaltestinganddevelopment,surelyitwasthisone.Yetthewholearrayofexperimentalandstatisticalattempts
4、inalltheseyearstoproducesomesignificantnewevidenceaboutthenatureandconsequencesofthestruggleforexistenceispitifullymeager.Suchcontributionsa3thoseofBumpus,Weldon,Pearson,andHarrisareworthyofallpraise,buttherehavebeensovery,veryfewofthem.Andthereissurelysomethingcomicinthespectacleoflaborator
5、iesovertlyembarkingupontheexperimentalstudyofevolutionandcarefullythereafteravoidinganydirectandpurposefulattackuponapertinentproblem,thefundamentalimportanceofwhichDarwinsurelyestablished.Atthepresenttimethereisabundantevidenceofanalteredattitude;andparticularlyamongtheyoungergenerationofbi
6、ologists.Theproblemisbeingattacked,frontally,vigorouslyandintelligently.Thisrenewedandeffectiveactivityseemstobedueprimarilytotwothings:first,therecrudescenceofgeneralinterestintheproblemsofpopulation,withtheaccompanyingrecognitionthatpopulationproblemsarebasicallybiologicalproblems;and,seco
7、nd,therealizationthatthestruggleforexistenceandnaturalselectionaremattersconcerningthedynamicsofpopulations,birthrates,deathrates,interactionsofmixedpopulations,etc.ThesethingswererecognizedandpointedoutbyKarlPearsonmanyyearsago.Hiswords,however,we
