Evolution and The Origin of Species

Question 1

What were some early views on evolution?

Answer 1

Ancient philosophers primarily believed organisms remained unchanged overtime.
Ex) Plato and Aristotle

Question 2

When did the views of evolution begin to change?

Answer 2

Age of Enlightenment (18th and 19th century)

Question 3

Carl von Linne (Carolus Linnaeus)

Answer 3

18th century; orderly nested classification system; based on relatedness of common characteristics

Question 4

Georges Cuvier

Answer 4

18th century; connected fossils to ancient ecosystems

Question 5

Gradualism

Answer 5

James Hutton (18th century geologist); the evolutionary process in which species experience changes in characteristics slowly and incrementally

Question 6

Charles Lyell

Answer 6

Fathers of Modern Geology; created “Principles of Geology (1830s)”; proposed the idea that the earth is old and processes continue; colleague of Darwin

Question 7

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Answer 7

believed in heredity of acquired characteristics; connected evolution to adaptation; “use it or lose it” proposal; “Philosophie Zoologique (1809)”; “Lamarckism”

Question 8

Lamarckism

Answer 8

the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime

Question 9

Erasmus Darwin

Answer 9

Charles Darwin’s grandfather; philosophized on “minute forms” gaining complexity in late 1700s, or small changes over time lead to big differences over time

Question 10

HMS Beagle

Answer 10

Charles Darwin (1831-1836)
-led inland expeditions for observations
-took samples and preserved them; made notes of species’ geographic locales
-noted adaptations of species
-believed he found evidence of Lyell’s geographical processes (1835)
-focused around the bottom of South America; went to bottom of Africa and Australia
-did not publish ideas upon return

Question 11

Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace

Answer 11

Both wrote scientific papers on natural selection that were presented together before the Linnean Society in 1858
Darwin published “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection” in 1859 (before Wallace published anything)

Question 12

Darwin’s Theory Pt. 1

Answer 12

Descent with Modification:
-commons ancestor gave rise to present species through gradual modifications over time (evolution)

Question 13

Darwin’s Theory Pt. 2

Answer 13

Natural Selection:
-most characteristics are heritable, passed from parent to offspring
-more offspring are produced than can survive; there is a competition for resources
-characteristics of offspring vary, and these variations are heritable

Question 14

Darwin’s Observation

Answer 14

Darwin observed that beak shape varies among finch species. He postulated that the beak of an ancestral species had adapted over time to equip the finches to acquire different food sources

Question 15

The mechanism for evolution

Answer 15

Natural Selection

Question 16

Darwin’s Theory Postulate #1

Answer 16

Heritable variation exists in most species

Question 17

Darwin’s Theory Postulate #2

Answer 17

All species produce more offspring than the environment can support. Many offspring die before maturity

Question 18

Artificial Selection

Answer 18

Farmers can enhance heritable variations by artificial breeding. Humans have been doing this for thousands of years with crops and domesticated animals

Question 19

Selective Breeding

Answer 19

Humans choose the phenotypes wanted and breed those individuals, as well as creating more idea hybrids and breeds

Question 20

Natural Selection

Answer 20

There is an unequal reproductive success among individuals. Those with the “best” traits (help them survive and reproduce in their environment) leave more offspring than others
Those heritable, favorable traits accumulate over time, matching the species to its environment and ultimately leading to new species

Question 21

Artificial vs. Natural Selection

Answer 21

Artificial:
-Different breeding goals
-Breeder’s choice
-Leads to different varieties

Natural:
-Different environments
-Nature’s choice
-Leads to different species

Question 22

What does natural selection lead to?

Answer 22

Leads to different adaptations in different environments