Darwins Theory of Evolution

Chapter 15

Charles Robert Darwin

Born 12 February 1809 Died 19 April 1882

Was an English naturalist and geologist.

Best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors. In a joint publication with Alfred Russell Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.

Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle

December 27 1831 to October 2, 1836 Captain Robert FitzRoy Charles Darwin had hoped to see the tropics before becoming a parson and accepted the opportunity to sail.

By the end of the expedition Darwin had already made his name as a geologist and fossil collector and the publication of his journal became known as The Voyage of the Beagle.

The Voyage
The Beagle sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and carried out detailed hydrographic surveys around the coasts of the southern part of South America. Returned to Tahiti and Australia. Voyage was planned to last 2 years, it lasted almost 5 years.

Observations
During the voyage Darwin collected samples of plants and small birds or animals to study. On a single day in the Brazilian forest, Darwin collected 68 different species of beetles. He began to realize that and enormous number of species inhabit the earth.

Pattern of Diversity
The patterns of species diversity in an area or at any one time are set by some combination of three factors: chance, history and necessity. Chance: random processes of birth, death and migration. A lizard might arrive unpredictably on a remote island, for example, because the log it was on happened to float in the right direction.

 History: correlation through time as a function of reproduction. In other words, if a species was abundant in the near past, chances are that it will be abundant today. Also, progeny tend to cluster near the parents, therefore, we tend to find organisms in "pockets" rather than evenly distributed in space.

Necessity: The laws of growth, competition and interaction. Different species flourish in different conditions. The number of species that can coexist will depend on how complex the environment is and on how strongly they compete with one another. And, of course, the number of species of herbivores, predators and parasites will depend on the number of plants, prey and hosts.

Interaction

Competition

Living Organisms and Fossils

Living organisms are only part of the puzzle for Darwin. He collected and preserved remains of ancient organisms called fossils. Some fossils resembled organisms that are still alive.

Teleoceras

Rhinoceros

Living Organisms and Fossils

Other fossils looked unlike any creature living.

As Darwin studied fossils questions arose.

a. Why had so many of these species disappeared? b. How were they related to living species?