Early ideas about the origin of

species
 Plato
 428-348 BC

 2 worlds
 1 world Real and Perfect
 The other world Imaginary and Perceived
 Aristotle
 348- 282 BCE
 Student of Plato

 Scala Natura an ordered ladder

of things from the simple
to the complex.
The species were fixed.
We’re near the top.
 Diversity of life
 Carlos Linaeus
(Carl von Linné)
1707-1778
 Father of taxonomy

 His life goal was to

name and classify all the

organisms on earth.
He did the ground work
of binomial nomenclature
This theory has been disproved!

 Lamark 1744-1849
 Evolution is driven by

“ the innate desire to improve”

 Use caused the growth of a

desired trait.
 Disuse cause the Deterioration of a trait.
 These acquired traits could then be inherited.

Eg. Duck’s webbed feet, Snakes hips, a giraffe's neck

A blacksmith’s muscles, A concert pianists skill.
 Sir Charles Lyell 1797 -1875
 Wrote Geologia Principia

Or Principles of Geology
 He determined that the earth

was very old.(This was radicle!!)

It was billions of years old
instead of the biblical thousands.
 Geology is constantly changing slowly

 Slow continuous process can bring about a

significant change
CHARLES DARWIN AND THE
THEORY OF NATURAL
SELECTION
Who was Charles Darwin?
Darwin as a boy
Charles was born in 1809 on Feb 12 in Shrewsbury, England.
He was the fifth of 6 children.

His father and Grandfather were both doctors, very important

And to Darwin rather intimidating.

Darwin’s Mother, Susannah died when he was 8 years

and he was brought up by his sisters. In his free time he
played with insects, identified plants, hiked and hunted
and generally liked the outdoors.

His father wanted him to become a doctor but he didn’t study

very hard. So he went to get a BA at Cambridge and where he
partied and hiked and collected stuff and he almost failed.

As a last resort he was told he had to become a minister of the

church. This was the custom in those days.
Charles Darwin at 21

Darwin was spending his last summer Hunting rocks

and mountain climbing in Wales
before becoming a minister and earning his livelihood.

His professor of theology and botany, Henslow,

knew he liked Natural History and Geology

He recommended him to Fitzroy as an unpaid

Naturalist for a three Year voyage to map The coast
of South America .

Darwin Jumped at the chance against his Father’s will.

(Guess who had to pay Darwin’s expenses?)

He was only 21.... He failed at most of his studies

and didn’t know what he wanted from life
Captain Fitzroy at 23
By 23 Robert Fitzroy was an experienced Sea Captain
Who had already sailed to South America and back on the
Beagle.

He wanted company of his own station. There were mental

Health issues in his family.
He was afraid loneliness might bring on paranoid tendencies.
He was very Christian as was Darwin.

His goals were to chart the coast of Patagonia,

the worst seas in the world.

He hoped Darwin’s identifying the Flora and Fauna and

Geology of the region would help support the “Genesis”
version of Creation.

Darwin enthusiastically agreed.

Voyage of the Beagle
1831 - 1836
Only 90 Feet
in length
 Darwin’s Books
(and tools)

 Lyell’s Principles of Geology, Hot off the press

 Von Humbolt’s Personal Narrative

(German Naturalist)
 Milton’s Paradise Lost.

 Bible

Tools:
Binoculars, geological hammer, magnifying glass,
Jars of spirits for preserving specimens.
 Definitions

 Observations:
something sensed or measured generally considered a fact.
 Inference:
an observation + a logical guess
 Hypothesis:
An Educated guess that is testable.
“If this is true , then this will happen.”
If the hypothesis is tested and found wrong then it’s thrown out.
If it is supported then it’s tested again and again.
 Theory:
An Hypothesis that has been supported so many times it is now
considered to be true. Often modified in the light of new evidence but
rarely thrown out.
 Theory of Natural
Selection
A theory is a unifying idea that explains
observations.
In over 150 years this is still the best explanation
for all the evidences of evolution.
Evolution is a slow change over time.
It is based on 4 facts and 3 inferences
Fact: Populations left alone will
breed exponentially
Fact: Organism produce many
more offspring than actually
survive. Most populations are
stable except for seasonal flux
Fact:Resources are limited
 Inference:
Since not all offspring survive, there must be a
competition for resources like food, water,
sunlight, space.
Producing more offspring than
the environment can support causes struggle
for existence.
Fact: No two individuals in a
population are exactly alike.
 Inference:
 Individuals that have a variation that gives
them an advantage in competing for resources
will survive longer.
 Survival is not random it depends inpart on
inherited traits
 Inference:

 Individuals whose traits best “fit” their

environment live longer are more likely to breed
and produce more offspring.
 More of the successful variations will be passed
down to the next generation.
 This unequal ability to reproduce will lead to
gradual change. Favorable characteristics will
accumulate.
 In Northern England there is a peppered moths
that has two phenotypes.
 Dark (dominant) Light (recessive)
 Which peppered moth is more
likely to be eaten by Blue Jays?

1848’s: 1895’s:
before industrial revolution after the industrial revolution1

NO POLLUTION! Pollution kills lichen.

Trees are covered in lichen Trees covered with soot
from factories

98% of moths were white 5% of the moths were white

2% were black 95% were black
 Evolution
 Evolution is a slow change over time
 Evolution occurs in a population not in an
individual.
 We measure evolution by looking at the change
in allele frequencies over time.
 Just like in the peppered moth.
 Now with air pollution under control the
lichen is growing back on the tree and the
peppered moths have a larger white
population again.
 Bibliography
 Moorehead, Alan. Darwin and the Beagle. third. London:
Hamish Hamilton, 1969. 279. Print.
 McLaren, James E. et al. Heath Biology. Toronto, Ontario,
Lexington , Mass.: DC Heath and Company, 1991. 230-247.
Print.
 "Charles Darwin." Charles Darwin. Wikipedia, 27 March 2011
at 07:56. Web. 27 Mar 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin
 Kettlewell, Bernard, et al. "Peppered moth evolution."
Peppered moth evolution. Wikipedia, 12 March 2011 at 09:36..
Web. 27 Mar 2011.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peppered_moth_evolution