The theories presented in Darwin’s book the origins of species changed the path of science to what we know today. Darwin presented an elegant idea that explained the history of life up to the current time. His four postulates stated that individuals in a population have variability, those variations are hereditable and result in an increase in reproduction success. Finally, survival and reproduction are not random. Natural selection acts only on the individual not the species. These environmental benefits then get passed on over time and that results in evolution. Its important to note that selection only favors organisms in specific environments and can end up being disadvantageous in others (Darwin, 1859). Darwin’s original theories were
…show more content…
A Vestigial structure was not something orginally thought of by Darwin nor was he the one that called them by that name. He called vestigial structures or organs by the names rudimentary or atrophied and said they were of no physiological use (Darwin, 1859). A vestigial bookstore would be small non-corporate owned stores that sells exclusively books which is exactly what the Dawn Treader is. According to natural selection this bookstore should have been beaten out by more adapted stores like Borders, Barnes and Nobles, or Amazon. But since it can be considered a vestigial structure this store continues to survive and thrive. An example of a vestigial organ that is similar to the Dawn Treader is the appendix in humans. While it’s actually function today is debated Darwin had a specific idea for it in the past. He believed that it was used to help humans digest tree bark and other rough dense fibrous food sources. Obviously humans no longer eat nor need to eat tree bark. Therefore, in Darwin’s eyes it become a useless addition to the human body that if lost would not decrease human’s survival as a …show more content…
The Dawn Treader sells current books but it also sells older and rarer books. By being in this market it manages to fill an ecological niche that allows it to not have exclusive competition with other larger book stores or internet sellers. It also extends its reach to people who are against the use of E-readers and prefer to hold actual books in their hands. This survival can be analogous with the finches of the Galapagos islands. If all the finches fed on the same food source they would eventually destroy that source and die out. Instead natural selection acted on individual organism and allowed the beck size of the finches to differentiate in order to feed on different sources. The finches were also each on a different part of the island chain that slightly different resources available and evolving different beak sizes allowed them to exploit those resources better. The Dawn Treader, like the finches, evolved a way to exploit slightly different environments so they did not compete themselves into extinction (Darwin,
A Vestigial structure was not something orginally thought of by Darwin nor was he the one that called them by that name. He called vestigial structures or organs by the names rudimentary or atrophied and said they were of no physiological use (Darwin, 1859). A vestigial bookstore would be small non-corporate owned stores that sells exclusively books which is exactly what the Dawn Treader is. According to natural selection this bookstore should have been beaten out by more adapted stores like Borders, Barnes and Nobles, or Amazon. But since it can be considered a vestigial structure this store continues to survive and thrive. An example of a vestigial organ that is similar to the Dawn Treader is the appendix in humans. While it’s actually function today is debated Darwin had a specific idea for it in the past. He believed that it was used to help humans digest tree bark and other rough dense fibrous food sources. Obviously humans no longer eat nor need to eat tree bark. Therefore, in Darwin’s eyes it become a useless addition to the human body that if lost would not decrease human’s survival as a …show more content…
The Dawn Treader sells current books but it also sells older and rarer books. By being in this market it manages to fill an ecological niche that allows it to not have exclusive competition with other larger book stores or internet sellers. It also extends its reach to people who are against the use of E-readers and prefer to hold actual books in their hands. This survival can be analogous with the finches of the Galapagos islands. If all the finches fed on the same food source they would eventually destroy that source and die out. Instead natural selection acted on individual organism and allowed the beck size of the finches to differentiate in order to feed on different sources. The finches were also each on a different part of the island chain that slightly different resources available and evolving different beak sizes allowed them to exploit those resources better. The Dawn Treader, like the finches, evolved a way to exploit slightly different environments so they did not compete themselves into extinction (Darwin,