Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Principle of Competitive Exclusion and Drosophila

Abstract

THE Volterra–Gause equations1—the mathematical formulation of the principle of competitive exclusion2—are where r1 is the intrinsic rate of increase of species 1, N1 is its population size, and K1 is the expected value of N1 in single species culture. The constants α and β, the coefficients of competition, denote the relative effect of the abundance of one species on the population growth rate of the other. These relationships imply that for a stable competitive equilibrium to obtain it is necessary that

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Gause, G. F., The Struggle for Existence (Williams and Wilkins. Baltimore, 1934).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Hardin, G., Science, 131, 1292 (1960).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Ayala, F. J., Nature, 224, 1076 (1969).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

BOROWSKY, R. Principle of Competitive Exclusion and Drosophila. Nature 230, 409–410 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/230409a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/230409a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing