Abstract
The evolution of organisms in the succession of generations has been primarilly achieved through the appearance of new hereditary variants with minor deviations along with the development of stable structures and functions. Harmful mutants were eradicated either immediately or in the subsequent generations through the process of natural selection while unharmful or advantageous ones usually survived. As this process continued, many new races and species developed which possessed structures and functions of a rational nature and which became increasingly independent from their environment. These evolutionary tendencies were also promoted through either geographical, ecological, physiological or genetical isolation of populations.
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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Rensch, B. (1990). Evolution of Castes in Insects. In: Engels, W. (eds) Social Insects. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74490-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74490-7_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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