Abstract
The genetic theory of natural selection proposed by Fisher takes into account differential reproduction success of organisms, which may be estimated by using the Malthusian parameter as fitness. However, the minimum possible value of this parameter depends on ecological stability of an organism, which determines the probability of the survival and participation in reproduction for each viable offspring. In the course of vertical evolution, leading to an increase in the level of biological organization, ecological stability of organisms increases, and this might be accompanied by a decrease in their fitness. In the macroevolutionary process, alterations in ecological stability of organisms, including those responsible for an increase in the level of biological organization, are basic and primary changes whereas alterations in fitness are additional and secondary.
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Sukhodolets, V.V. The Genetic Explanation of Vertical Evolution. Russian Journal of Genetics 37, 115–122 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009095202621
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009095202621