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ubermeisters t1_jc2giue wrote

Reply to comment by linkdude212 in A male-killing gene encoded by a symbiotic virus of Drosophila by eniteris

Charles Darwin ruined us all with the implication that evolution is driven by goals. it isn't. the most successful survive, that's it.

the fact that this disproportionately effects the male offspring sure would seem to imply an evolutionary disadvantage, so we can probably assume they have another major advantage elsewhere that overshadows this seeming flaw.

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NoahMaddyn t1_jc3xbqq wrote

I suspect it's because a higher ratio of females to males wastes less resources on unnecessary males. If there is 1 female to every 1 male, a population of 10 can have 5 sets of offspring every mating season. If there are 4 females to every 1 male, a population of 10 can have 8 sets of offspring every mating season.

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ubermeisters t1_jc41igf wrote

yeah, I suspect you're onto something here. The numbers flesh out one way or another in the end I'm sure.

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