Describe Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is a species adaptation to its environment and the environment’s impact to the species over time. Traits that benefit the survival of the species within a specific environment pass to offspring because members of the population that have the beneficial traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. In order for a change to be evolutionary it must be genetic and on a hereditary level. The change occurs from generation to generation and over time impacts the entire population. Evolution by natural selection can impact a species to the point of varying so much from its original traits it is now a new species. It can also force a species into extinction. A population, which is defined as “a group of individuals of the same species living in the same place at the same time”, changes over time as it evolves. (Simon pg. 245) Two observations were made by Darwin as well as other naturalists. 1) Most species have more offspring than can be sustained by their surrounding environment. This creates a “struggle for existence” that eliminates the least adaptable within the species. Numbers dwindle due to members of a species freezing, disease, becoming prey to predators, being unmated or being unable to reproduce. Those who are more adaptable to the environment’s temperature, have an allele which codes for an enzyme that fights a disease, have the coloring that camouflage their presence or are fertile, are more likely to survive. 2) Traits of members of a population can vary but are more similar between offspring and their parents and siblings. It supports the belief that traits are directly inherited from parent to child. Geography has an impact on evolution in that the resources surrounding a population can impact those who are able to survive. The plants animals and insects available as food can impact those successful in feeding and what...
Darwin’sTheory of Evolution
South University Online
Darwin’sTheory of EvolutionDarwin’sTheory of Evolution, stems from his book On the Origin of Species published in 1859, and seeks to explain the origin of life on Earth and the origin of different species. According to the theory, life began billions of years ago when a self-replicating molecule was organized by a group of chemicals, purely by chance. The basic premise is that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor. Everything from the animals in the sky, waters, and on land are all related, from plant life to humans. Darwin believed that living developed from non-living and puts great importance on descent with modification. More complex creatures have evolved from more simplistic ones naturally over time. Beneficial mutations are preserved because they aid in survival, when random genetic mutations occur. This happens when physical and behavioral changes occur at the level of DNA and genes. Darwin calls this process natural selection. These changes would allow for better survival and often more offspring being born. Generation after generation pass on the beneficial mutations. Once the organism passes on so many mutations, they accumulate and can form an entirely...
...Module/Subject Code: PY291 Module/Subject Title: No of Words: Introduction to Psychology 2, 320
[DARWIN’STHEORY OF EVOLUTION]
Describe Darwin’stheory of evolution and evaluate the important contribution it has made to Psychology as a discipline.
In 2007, Scientists from the Smithsonian Institute inducted the skulls of a prehistoric snake, found in tact in a Colombian coal mine, into the fossil record1. These giant snakes, cold-blooded reptiles, alongside two other ancestors of animals still living today: the giant crocodile and the giant tortoise; pre-date the evolutionary progeny of Darwin’s observations in the Galapagos Islands yet exemplify his theory of natural selection. Long before Darwin published his evolutionary observations in On the Origin of Species, the snake, Titanoboa, was the dominant carnivorous predator. Biologically superior in its ability to hunt, constrict, and swallow prey whole, the higher temperatures of this tropical climate produced optimal conditions for Titanoboa and other such reptiles to grow to gigantic proportions (Head, J. J., Bloch, 2009). Today’s snakes, limited only by environmental conditions (Huey, R. B., 1991), have inherited similar physiological and reproductive traits. In 1836, Darwin reached the archipelago of the Galapagos Islands: 16 volcanic masses off the coast of South America, individual habitats at...
June 23, 2012
L. obtusata a Model Organism for Understanding Darwin’sTheory of Evolution by Natural Selection
The mechanisms for individuals in a population to survive heterogeneous habitats have been a strong debate within the scientific community. The native European Littorina obtusata are a great model organism to study Darwin’sTheory of Evolution by Natural Selection. This is because of their vast phenotypic characteristics, particularly their evolving shell thickness throughout history due to predatory pressures of the new arrival of Carcinus maenas. Here we test whether L obtusata three most critical tenants of Darwin’stheory of evolution by natural selection; variation within a population, heritability, and selection. By observing the shell thickness of East Coast of N. America L. obtusata where predatory C. maenas are common versus the West Coast of N. America where C. maenas are not found, it will further provide evidence whether these shell thickness differences are due to natural selection predatory or phenotypic plasticity occurring. This was tested by placing banded crabs in both East and West populations of L. obtusata and observing how their shell thickness decreased, further proving that L. obtusata cannot sense or smell the presence of C. maenas. These findings provide further...
...Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution
Charles Darwin is widely known as the father of evolutionary biology. It is believed that no one has influenced our knowledge of life on Earth as much as he has. His theory of evolution by natural selection, which has unified the theories of the life sciences, explained where all the diverse living things came from and how they have been able to adapt to their specific environments. His theory reconciled a wide range of evidence to make sense of the facts that evidence has brought up. Darwin'stheory has made a great impact, as opinions on it are still debated today, if not more than they were in his time. Even without his theory of evolution, Darwin would still be considered one of the most influential workers in the history of science, as he has done much original work in geology, botany, biogeography, invertebrate zoology, psychology, and scientific travel writing.
Darwin'stheory states that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor and, over time, as genetic mutations occur within the beings' genetic code, the being reacts and adapts to its surroundings, or evolves. His theory stated that beneficial mutations are preserved as they aid survival, otherwise known as "natural selection." These beneficial mutations were passed...
...the Development of Darwin'sTheory of Evolution
Dec. 4 1996
There have been many ideas on the theory of evolution. Some simply take our
existence for granted, others prefer to explain all evolution in terms of the
bible and the presence of a God. However, there are those who have researched
the topic of evolution and have offered an explanation as to where a species
comes from and how they evolved in the manner that they did. This type of
science has been studied for a very, very long time, and one of the most famous
minds in the field of evolution was a man named Charles Darwin. Darwin was not
the first one to offer theories on evolution. There have been many scientists
who preceded him. These earlier evolutionists came up with models of evolution
that were unfortunately unworkable. One of these early pioneers was Jean-
Baptiste Lamarck. Lamarck believed in deism and advocated natural religion based
on human reason. He believed in the harmony and rationality of the world. And
although flawed, the work of Lamarck did not go unnoticed, however. Darwin also
believed in the harmony of the world, and it was Darwin himself who said that
Lamarck was the first man whose conclusions on evolution brought about
excitement and attention. He was the one who showed law in organic and inorganic
Topic: Evolution- A fact or a Theory and whether this Theory should be taught to students.
The English naturalist Charles Darwin developed the theory of evolution in 1859 as a scientific explanation of species formation. What is the Theory of Evolution?
“Darwinian evolution is the theory that all living things are related by descent with modification from common ancestors. The mechanism of modification (i.e. how these changes take place) is primarily natural selection, sometimes defined as survival of the fittest, acting on random variation in the genetic makeup of replicating systems (i.e., organisms that are capable of reproducing themselves).” (Robert P. Lattimer)
Evolutiontheory is the reigning paradigm used by most scientists to explain the origin and diversity of life. According to professors, biological origins should be taught with objectivity. Evidence that both supports and challenges evolution should be presented, and the naturalistic assumption behind it should be disclosed.
Darwinian evolution rests on the fundamental assumption that biological origins can be explained by natural processes (i.e., the laws of chemistry and physics and random chance acting upon matter and energy). Evolutionary biology is a historical science; it attempts to explain events and...
...the water and started to live on land. This change is called evolution. Who founded the theory; what is it and why it happens will all be explained in the following paragraphs.
Charles Darwin is the man who is most famously associated with the theory of evolution. In 1859 he published a book a called ‘the Origin of Species’ which explained his theories on evolution. Darwin received lots of criticism and his theories caused much debate when he first mentioned it. This is because his theory of evolution did not match up with religious views which said that God had made all the animals and plants on Earth. Also, Darwin did not have much evidence to go by and he had only discovered the tip of the iceberg of evolution. It took a further 50 years to discover how inheritance and variation worked. But Darwin was not the only man to come up with this absurd idea. Around the same time as Darwin a French scientist, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, had come up with a theory about evolution. This theory was slightly different from Charles Darwin’s. Lamarck believed in use and disuse, he thought that the long necks of giraffes evolved as generations of giraffes used their necks to reach for leaves which were higher and higher on the trees. There was one major flaw to Lamarck’s theory,...
...There have been many theories explaining evolution. Two of the most well known of these are the Lamarckian theory, which was mostly believed before the Darwinian theory, which is the theory which is believed to have the highest probability of it being the case.
In Lamarck's theory of evolution, he stated that an organism was able to pass on required traits to their offspring. Thistheory is commonly shown through the giraffe's evolution to having longer legs and a longer neck. According to Lamarck's theory, during a bad season when all the vegetation in lower areas (easily reachable by the giraffe with the shorter neck and legs) had gone, the giraffes were forced to stretch their necks, to reach for food on a higher level. These giraffes would then have longer necks and would pass this trait of having a longer neck to their offspring. Lamarck's theory then states that over time, each generation will pass on their traits of having a longer neck than the previous generation, accounting for the evolution of the giraffe from being an animal with a shorter neck and legs, to one seen today with its long neck and legs.
Darwin'stheory relied on a process of natural selection. In his theory, at the start there would have been many giraffes of varying heights, which would...