Transcript In Search of the Origin of Species

Epic Adventures in the Search for the
Origin of Species
Alexander von Humboldt
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Prussian Naturalist & Explorer (1769 – 1859) Avid explorer who wrote 30
volumes about his experiences and discoveries which influenced many other
explores of the world.
His first volume of his exploration of South America was one of the 3 books
Charles Darwin brought with him on his voyage around the world (1831 –
1836).
Charles Darwin
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Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) (what was Darwin’s nick-name?)
Voyage of the Beagle (1831 – 1836)
Theory of Evolution by Means of Natural Selection – (1859) (what is the
complete title of his book?)
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Descent with Modification from a common ancestor.
Alfred Russel Wallace
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Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 – 1913)
Explorations of the Amazon and Malay Archipelago (1848 – 1862)
“ Wallace’s Line” ?
“Survival of the fittest” – “Struggle for existence”
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What influence did Wallace’s letter (June 1858) have on Charles Darwin?
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Henry Walter Bates
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Henry Walter Bates (1825 – 1892)
Exploration of the Amazon (with friend A.R.Wallace) (1848 – 1859)
Insect collection as supporting evidence of descent with modification.
Batesian Mimicry? (explain?)
Eugene Dubois
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Eugene Dubois (1858 – 1940)
Dutch paleontologist went to the Dutch East Indies (Sumatra) to look for
the “missing link” of human evolution. (thought the cradle of evolution of
man was in Asia)
He discovered a skull cap, thigh bone, and teeth of “Java Man” also known
as Pithecanthropus which is now called Homo erectus.
Dubois stimulated the search for more “missing links” in the evolution of
man.
Charles Doolittle Walcott
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Charles Doolittle Walcott (1850 – 1927)
Paleontologist who discovered precambrian fossils at bottom of
Grand Canyon (1882) and later the Burgess Shale fossils in
Canadian Rockies (1909) “Cambrian Explosion” of the fossil record.
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How long was the “Cambrian Explosion” in years?
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Roy Chapman Andrews
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Roy Chapman Andrews ( 1884 – 1960)
Explorer – Expeditions to Asia (Mongolia-1920’s) Gobi Desert to look for
“missing link” but ended up finding dinosaur fossils including the first
dinosaur eggs.
Velociraptor fossil found near fossil egg nests.
Also found small skulls of early mammals showing mammals lived at the
time of dinosaurs.
Noted for his hat, revolver, and hatred of snakes. (Who does this sound
like?)
Walter Alvarez
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Walter Alvarez (1940 ) Luis Alvarez (father) – (1911 – 1988)
K-T Boundary Clay Layer – Irridium isotope
Asteroid impact 65 million years ago.
Chicxulub Crater – Yucatan Peninsula impact site
Evidence of periodic extinctions – history of life is not orderly and gradual
process envisioned by Lyell & Darwin
Are the dinosaurs extinct? Support your answer.
Impact
John Ostrom
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John Ostrom (1928 – 2005)
Paleontologist who discovered the fossil of Deinonychus in the bad lands of
Montana and Wyoming (1964).
Discovered the close relationship between Archaeopteryx and Deinonychus
and that birds are living descendents of dinosaurs – an evolved form of
Theropod Dinosaurs.
Ostrom was the role model for “Dr. Alan Grant” in the move Jurassic Park.
Ostrom changed the view that dinosaurs were sluggish animals that
dragged their tails. He also suggested that Hadrosaur dinosaurs traveled in
herds.
Neil Shubin
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Neil Shubin (1960 - )
Evolution Biologist who discovered (along with Ted Daeschler &
Farish Jenkins) “Tiktaalik” on Ellesmere Island Canada (2004).
Tiktaalik (which means ‘fish with legs’) represents an evolutionary
intermediate between fish and tetrapods.
Tiktaalik
Louis and Mary Leakey
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Louis Leakey (1903 – 1972) Mary Leakey (1913 – 1996)
Both of the Leakey’s are noted for their discoveries of hominid tools
and fossils in East Africa Olduvai Gorge including the Laetoli foot
prints.
Discovered at Olduvai: Australopithecus, Homo habilis, and Homo
erectus.
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Laetoli Foot Prints
Homo habilis
Home erectus
Hominid Tools
Linus Pauling
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Linus Pauling (1901 – 1994)
Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1954) and Peace Prize (1963)
Chemical structure of proteins (alpha helix)
Molecular basis for disease (Sickle Cell Hemoglobin)
Developed methods (along with Emile ZuckerKandl) to read the molecular
clock of changes in proteins – eventually DNA due to mutrations
Using molecules to measure evolutionary change over time.
Allan Wilson
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Allan Wilson (1934 – 1991)
Follow up work of Pauling and Zuckerkandl using molecular clock to
determine evolution of hominids.
Used DNA sequencing and PCR to help determine evolutionary dates of
man.
Neandertals were older lineage of human as was Homo erectus.
Used mtDNA to support ‘out of Africa’ origins of man and ‘mitochondrial
Eve’ around 150,000 yrs. ago.