Who is Jean-Baptiste Lamarck?

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was born on August 1, 1744, in northern

France. He was one of the eleven children in his household.
Lamarck became interested in science through his pursuit in a
career in medicine. He became especially interested in botany
(the study of plants) and eventually studied under a well-known
French naturalist. However, it is his biological work on
inheritance for which he is most known, Lamarck was the first
scientist to propose a theory on how species change over time.
Using fossil records as a guide, Lamarck was able to develop
three theories; one is The Theory of Need which states that
organisms change in response to their environment. Their
ability to survive helped them develop characteristics necessary
for them to adapt to a given environment. Next is The Theory
of Use and Disuse, which according to Lamarck, organs not in
use will disappear while organs in use will develop. Lamarck
believed that giraffes before having short necks, but because of
the need to survive and in order to reach tall trees for food, they
kept stretching their necks until these became longer and able
to reach taller trees. These acquired characteristics were
“It is not always the believed to be inherited by their offsprings and propagated by
the next generation of giraffes. Lamarck called it as The Theory
magnitude of the
of Acquired Characteristics. He suggested that species evolved
differences observed through the inheritance of acquired traits. For instance,
between species that must Lamarck explained that traits acquired throughout an
organism’s lifetime can be passed on to their offspring. For
determine specific
example, a giraffe born with a short neck, could grow a longer
distinctions, but the neck by reaching for the leaves at the tops of trees. Then, those
constant preservation of giraffes who had acquired long necks during their lifetime
those differences in would have offspring who had long necks instead of the short
necks that their parents were born with. Lamarck concluded that
reproduction.” it is through these acquired traits that species are able to change
over time.
- Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Who is Charles Darwin?
The more popular Theory of Evolution proposed by Charles Darwin
based on natural selection is different from the theories of Lamarck.
According to Darwin, giraffe species originally had varying neck
lengths but natural selection favored the survival of giraffes with
longer necks that could feed on taller trees that were available.
Giraffes with short neck were eliminated due to lack of accessible
food supply.
Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809, in England. He was
a naturalist who enjoyed studying both plants and animals. Darwin
embarked on a 5-year journey around the world on the HMS Beagle,
and it was on this trip that he observed and began to contemplate the
process of how species change over time. On his voyage, he made a
stop at the Galapagos Islands where he noticed that the organisms
varied slightly from island to island. At this observation, he began
pondering the possible mechanisms that would cause this to be the
case. In particular, he studied the tortoises present on each of the
islands. He noted that the neck length of the tortoises on each varied
and suggested that perhaps it was due to the varying types of
vegetation present from island to island. He also observed that the
“I am turned into same was true for the finches, a type of bird, that lived on the islands.
some sort of a The beak shape of the finch varied depending on which island it lived
machine for on. Upon returning to England. Darwin explained his observations
and developed his theory of evolution called Natural Selection in his
observing facts and book “On the Origin of Species”. He suggested on idea of survival
grinding out of the fittest, in which those organism that are most “fit” for the
conclusions.” environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, leading to a
change in the species over time.
- Charles Darwin Darwin suggested that selection also takes place in nature. In
selective breeding, farmer identifies and selects the best and
desirable trait to propagate. In natural selection, environment factors
promote the survival of the fittest and eliminates the less fit.

“I have stated, that in the

thirteen species of ground-
finches, a nearly perfect
gradation may be traced, from a
beak extraordinarily thick, to
one so fine, that it may be
compared to that of a warbler.”
- Charles Darwin
Complete the chart below to compare Darwin and Lamarck.

Charles Darwin vs Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

When were they born?

Where were they born?

What are their theories

called? Give brief
explanations for each of
them.

What example did they

use to support their
theory? Give brief
information on how they
use it to support their
theory.

Based on scientific
evidence, who do you
think is most likely
recognized by the
science community as
the Father of Evolution?
Justify your answer.