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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Darwin's insights form the foundation of evolutionary theory |
Explains how patterns of diversity of life came to be Understand formation of species Taken up by most fields of science |
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Before Darwin |
Was born at a time when scientific enquiry was changing the way we view things Europeans were exploring and discovering huge diversity of animals and plants |
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Early classification of diversity |
Classification by morphology - before Darwin Now been refined by molecular evidence |
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Natural theology: complexity evidence of design |
All species thought to be designed by God 1600's = microscopes Small structures observed Intricate design patterns taken as evidence of an all powerful designer No mechanism could create such complexity |
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Carolus Linneaus |
Classified life into nested hierarchies - system still used today |
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Paley |
Mechanical complexity provided evidence form divine creator |
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Ideas of a gradually changing earth |
Noticed rock layers and deformations Specific layers = different chemical properties and fossil types Idea of evolution rose from the idea that earth in not static Layers = historical record Steno = study of layers, father of geology - pioneered use of stratigraphy for reconstructing the past |
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William Smith |
Different rock layers contain distinct fossils Layers correspond to eras Created first geological map Formations similar is distant locations with similar fossils Classification of rock and fossil typed from different periods |
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James Hutton |
Observable processes produce small changes that accumulate over time The earth must be old - older than Bible proposed (6,000 years) Questioning of religious beliefs |
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Charles Lyell |
Uniformitarian - landscaped of earth carved by constant and gradual processes acting over long periods Took a while to warm up to the theory of evolution OPPOSITION = only catastrophic events could shape the landscape 1950's - plate tectonics strengthened argument |
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Cuvier |
Father of paleontology Fossils resemble current species but are not exactly the same Many past species are extinct New species have evolved Classified fossils and compared them to modern species - homologies between the two |
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Early ideas about evolution - Buffon |
Earth formed according to the laws of physics and chemistry - older than previously thought Life emerged as distinct types - transformed when environment changed Species are not static |
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Lamarck |
Life driven from simple to complex Complex species descended from microbes - microbes also liked to disease Microbes continuously generated spontaneously Adaptation occurs through inheritance of acquired changes |
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Pre-Darwin ideas on evolution of species |
Grant = evidence for common decent of species by looking for homology among different organisms Chambers = Fossils in different stratigraphic layers changed over time, becoming increasingly complex and leading to the ascent of humans |
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Charles Darwin life history |
Medical school but preferred to study nature Trained to be a clergyman Invited to serve as unofficial naturalist on HMS Beagle in 1831 |
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Voyage of the Beagle |
Collected fossils and living organisms Studied geology while reading Lyell Impressed by diversity - finches on Galapagos especially so He questioned the origin of species and suggested species had not been designed but in fact change over time, evolving from an ancestral form |
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Influences on Darwin |
Lyell - earth gradually changes Comparisons between embryos reveals homologies not evident in adults Malthus - human population size limited by resources - constraints imposed |
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Descent with modification |
Organisms show variation These traits can be passed on Changes in prevalence of traits in a population over several generations |
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Beetle example |
Change in weight = environmental Change in colour = evolution of a heritable trait |
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Natural selection |
Darwin proposed species would evolve in response to pressures from the environment Fittest most likely to survive and have more offspring Outcompete individuals with weaker characteristics |
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Selection |
Non-random differential survival or reproduction of classes that are phenotypically different Occurs whenever there is competition for a finite resource and there is heritable variation |
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Adaptation |
Character or characteristic that enhances the survival or reproductive success of organisms relative to alternative characteristics |
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Darwin's Mechanism |
SEE A4 |
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Alfred Wallace |
Independantly formulated the idea of natural selection Draft paper prompted Darwin to publish his ideas Lyell and Hook proposed to publish their papers together and present at Linnean society |
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Darwin's Book |
Published in 1859 Decent with modification - all species share common ancestry and changes occur through natural selection |
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Homologous trait |
Similar because of inheritance from a common ancestor Common decent makes sense of puzzling patterns in nature |
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Genetic drift |
Random changes to the gene pool resulting from chance events Expansion of Darwin's theory |
