explain the work of thomas malthus on populations that influenced charles darwin(with example)

Dear Student,

The work of Thomas Malthus on populations influenced Darwin.Thomas Malthus was a political economist  who published a book  in 1797 called Essay on the Principle of Population in which he warned that most policies made to help poor would fail because of pressure from population growth. A high population growth leads to problems. After reading that book, Darwin and Wallace both realized that producing more offspring that can survive creates competition among individuals.If an individual has some trait that helps it to withstand the harsh environment or to breed more successfully, may leave more progeny than others. This is the basis of Theory of Natural Selection.

 Let us understand this by an example;

Beetles reproduce sexually and this sexual reproduction may generte variation. It was because of sexual reproduction that one progeny of red beetle changed into green colour. The green beetle can hide itself in leaves to escape from being eaten by crows. Thus, the variation provides a survival advantage to the beetle. Hence, the red beetles are rendered more vulnerable. Their chances of survival to reproduce are lesser in comparison to green beetles. This leads to an increase in the population of green beetles.