Summary The concept of Evolution - General Biology 2
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Course
Biology
Institution
The Development of Evolutionary Thought is a summary of how the concept of evolution began. This also covers Charles Darwin's life; and how he came to observe artificial selection, natural selection, and species adaptation.
Development of Evolutionary
Thought
The concept of evolution did not begin with Charles Darwin. Many naturalists began to assert in
the 18th century that life may not have been fixed since genesis. Paleontologists unearthed several fossils
that helped them reconstruct the past. Their findings piqued their curiosity in the evolution of creatures
and their environments.
Lamarck’s Hypothesis of Evolution
A French biologist named Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck postulated a mechanism for the development of life
throughout time. He hypothesized numerous lines of descent, each of which was a chronological
progression of older to younger fossils that led to the evolution of a living species. Lamarck's concept was
founded on two principles: use and disuse, which stated that sections of the body grew larger and stronger
over time, and inheritance of acquired features, which claimed that organisms could transmit these
changes along to their children. Modern genetics, on the other hand, refutes this method, as investigations
indicate that qualities acquired during a person's life are not inherited in the same way.
Descent with modification by natural selection explains the adaptations of organisms and
the unity and diversity of life
As the 19th century dawned, it was widely assumed that species had stayed unchanging since their
origin. A few clouds of uncertainty about the survival of species were gathering, but no one could have
predicted the raging storm just beyond the horizon. How did Charles Darwin become the lightning rod for
a new way of looking at life?
Darwin’s Research
Charles Darwin (1809-1882) was born in the western English town of Shrewsbury. He was always
fascinated by nature, even as a child. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, horseback riding, and insect collecting
when he wasn't reading nature literature. Darwin's father, however, saw no future for his son as a
naturalist and sent him to medical school in Edinburgh. However, Charles found medicine uninteresting
and surgery terrifying before the advent of anesthetic. He dropped out of medical school and enrolled at
Cambridge University with the intention of becoming a pastor. Henslow recommended Darwin to Captain
Robert FitzRoy, who was constructing the survey ship HMS Beagle for a long expedition across the
world.
The Voyage of the Beagle
In December 1831, Darwin embarked on the Beagle to chart the South American coastline. He spent most
of his time onshore, collecting thousands of plants and animals, describing their features and observing
the unique characteristics of South American tropics. He also studied geology, witnessing geologic
changes in Chile after a violent earthquake. His interest in the Galápagos volcanic islands sparked his
interest in unusual organisms, including mockingbirds and other species not found elsewhere. Darwin
hypothesized that these islands were colonized by straying organisms and diversified, resulting in new
species.
Darwin’s Focus on Adaptation
Darwin observed adaptations during the Beagle voyage, which led him to view adaptation and the origin
of new species as closely related processes. Studies on finches on the Galápagos Islands show that
adaptations arise through natural selection, where individuals with inherited traits survive and reproduce
at higher rates.
The Origin of Species
Darwin's book, The Origin of Species, posits those three key observations about nature - the unity of life,
the diversity of life, and the match between organisms and their environments - are a result of natural
selection's descent with modification. He attributed this to the ancestry of distant ancestors and the
gradual accumulation of adaptations over time, leading to the diverse life we know today.
Artificial Selection, Natural Selection, and Adaptation
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