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To: dawn53
These things make my head hurt and I will probably make quite a few mistakes here.
A constant of 24,000 reproducing at half their lifespan of ten years would make for 12,000 new offspring/year.Multiply that times 1000 and you end up with 12,000,000.
At that with a 1-1,000,000 mutation rate the answer should be 12.
The problem is that there is no breakdown between male and female numbers as all 24,000 can`t be females.
Without that it is impossible to determine the exact birth numbers.
45 posted on 12/05/2005 4:16:27 PM PST by carlr
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To: carlr
The problem is that there is no breakdown between male and female numbers as all 24,000 can`t be females.

They can't all be of breeding age, either. Some would be juveniles. Some would be aged. Males in such species typically fight each other for the right to breed, with the strongest animals passing along their genes. This means that a large number of males would not be able to breed even though they are sexualy mature.

In other words, I don't think the problem is intended to be taken as broadly as many on the thread are taking it. The idea is to solve the mathematical formula as posed in the question.

61 posted on 12/05/2005 4:54:18 PM PST by Wolfstar ("In war, there are usually only two exit strategies: victory or defeat." Mark Steyn)
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