Transcript Darwinism

Darwinism
The Origin of the Species by Natural Selection
Plato
Believed there were two worlds
A real world that is ideal and eternal
An illusory world of imperfection perceived by
senses
Aristotle
Believed that all living forms could be
arranged on a scale of increasing
complexity. This was known as scala
naturae.
Charles Darwin
Son of a prominent physician in England
At age 16 his father sent him to the University of
Edinburgh to study medicine
Enrolled at Christ College at Cambridge to
become a clergyman
In December of 1831 at the age of 22 he sailed
with the crew of the HMS Beagle
1844 – Wrote a long essay on the origin of species
by natural selection
1859 – Published The Origin of the Species by
Natural Selection
Others Influencing Darwin
Linnaeus
Lyell
George
Cuvier
James
Hutton
Jean
Bapiste
Lamark
Wallace
Summary of Darwin’s Ideas
Natural Selection is the differential
success in reproduction, and its
product is adaptation of organisms
to their environment
Natural selection occurs from the
interaction between environment
and the inherent variability in a
population
Variations in a population arise by
chance but natural selection is not a
chance phenomenon, since
environmental factors set definite
criteria for reproductive success.
Variation and overproduction make
natural selection possible
Examples of Natural Selection
in Action
Average beak depth varies with
rainfall
Butterfly population adapted to a
vegetation change in a ten year
period
Antibiotic resistant bacteria
The Evidences for Evolution
Artificial Selection
Embryology
Fossil Evidence
Comparative Biochemistry
Comparative Anatomy
Biogeography
Figure 22.2 Fossils of trilobites, animals that lived in the seas hundreds of millions of
years ago