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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Subject:
From:
Peter Loring Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 7 Sep 2013 23:10:26 +0000
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On Sep 7, 2013, at 6:12 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:

> If you have enough colonies you can enlist the assistance of Darwin in selecting for survivability.

This statement contains a serious error. Survival is not assured for any species. For example:

In the fossil record, extinction of species and higher taxa
is so common that extinction must play a significant role in the
evolutionary process. Virtually all species that have ever
lived are now extinct.

Extinction of species and higher taxa is generally seen as a constructive force in
evolution because it is assumed that the better adapted organisms are most likely
to survive. It is possible, however, that most extinction is non-selective and that
changes observed in the taxonomic composition of the biota are the result of
random effects.

Raup, D. M. (1981). Extintion: bad genes or bad luck?. Acta geológica hispánica, 16(1), 25-33.

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