BioConcepts

differential reproductiondifferentielle Reproduktion (ger.)

• Differences in the reproduction rate of individuals of different types; the mechanism of selection. 
  category selection

  1942

  [differential mortality, differential survival, and differential multiplication among variants of the same species are now known in numerous cases

  Huxley, J.S. (1942). Evolution. The Modern Synthesis: 16.]

  1947

  [what we call, after Darwin, “natural selection” […] we might better call differential multiplication, that is, the fact that weaker types tend to leave fewer offspring.

  Muller, H.J. (1947). Changing genes: their effects on evolution. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 3(9), 267-272; 274: 269.]

  1948

  Natural selection entails differential survival or reproduction […] differential reproduction of phenotypes leads to a differential reproduction of genotypes

  Lerner, I.M. & Dempster, E.R. (1948). Some aspects of evolutionary theory in the light of recent work on animal breeding. Evolution 2, 19-28: 19.

  1949

  the underlying idea [of the concept “natural selection”] […] is the principle that there is, in the first place, heritable variation in different directions, and that this is followed by differential survival and multiplication of the variants. We might abridge it all more accurately by terming this “the differential multiplication of diverse variations,” but “natural selection” is terser.

  Muller, H.J. (1949). The Darwinian and modern conceptions of natural selection. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 93, 459-470: 460. 

  1949

  the population-genetics concept of selection, briefly that of change in gene frequencies and genomes in populations produced by differential reproduction, is distinctly non-Darwinian, so that “neo-Darwinian” for the modern synthesis is a confusing misnomer

  Simpson, G.G. (1949). Essay-review on recent works on evolutionary theory by Rensch, Zimmermann, and Schindewolf. Evolution 3, 178-184: 182.

  1949

  the process [of natural selection] does not depend on “existence” or “survival,” certainly not as this applies to individuals and not even in any intensive or explanatory way as it applies to populations or species. It depends on differential reproduction, which is a different matter altogether. It does not favor “the fittest,” flatly and just so, unless you care to circle around and define “fittest” as those that do have most offspring. It does favor those that have more offspring.

  Simpson, G.G. (1949). The Meaning of Evolution (London 1950): 221.