What is Evolution? What is a Theory? A slow gradual change over time What is a Theory? An explanation to explain a phenomenon Tested and confirmed repeatedly through experiment/observation

Video Games 1975 - 1985

Nintendo – 1980’s

1990’s computer games Wolfenstein 3-D SimCity

1995 – Play Station

Charles Darwin The man and his ideas...

*Began adulthood as a creationist *Worked as a naturalist on the HMS Beagle in 1831 *Traveled to the Galapagos Islands *Observed flora and fauna (finches) and changed his ideas

Captain Fitzroy HMS Beagle From: http://www.juliantrubin.com/fitzroy.html HMS Beagle From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_FitzRoy

Map of Darwin’s Cabin on the HMS Beagle

5-year voyage to chart the coastline of South America and islands of the Pacific Ocean Collected thousands of plant and animal samples and kept careful note of his observations while traveling to some very interesting places.

This is a small volcanic island chain off the coast of Ecuador, in South America.

Galapagos Islands

*Darwin noticed that species were similar but were specialized for their environment *This pattern suggested a change over time, which he called Evolution. Example: The Finches

Darwin’s Tree of Life – showing a common ancestor

Darwin's Finches Tree Finch Cactus Finch Ground Finch

Darwin's Finches

-Decide in your group which beak is best suited for which food. Try This: -Each lab table has several types of bird food as well as several types of bird’s “beaks”. -As a group, use each of the different bird beaks to try picking up one bird seed. -Decide in your group which beak is best suited for which food.

Question: What would happen to you if you had the wrong beak for the food that was available where you lived?

Darwin Studied Other Ideas... Ideas about Breeding Ideas about Population Ideas about Geology

Breeding... Farmers and breeders produce many new kinds of plants and animals with desirable traits “Selective breeding” results in the “best crops” and most desirable pets Selective Breeding uses principles of genetics Video clip from: Evolution. AIMS Multimedia. 1993. unitedstreaming. 6 January 2006 <http://www.unitedstreaming.com/>

Selective Breeding (animals)

Selective Breeding (plants) If humans can select traits in species why can’t nature

Population... Malthus: Essay on the Principle of Population Human population grows rapidly Food production can’t keep up with food demand Darwin: in any population, a limited number of individuals can survive to reproduce; these survivors have some special traits for survival

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) If humans over reproduce so do animals in nature, but competition keeps populations in check

Geology... Lyell: Principles of Geology Provided evidence that Earth was much older than anyone imagined If the earth is extremely old and can change slowly overtime, life must change with it. From: http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/information/biography/klmno/lyell_charles.html

Darwin struggled with all these ideas He proposed that evolution happened He suggested a process called Natural Selection He presented these ideas in his book On The Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection

Alfred Wallace (1823-1913) Wrote to Darwin for advice Sent him a theory to look at It was similar to Darwin’s with less support Prompted Darwin to publish his Also came up with Natural Selection, but didn’t have as much evidence.

Natural Selection Darwin’s mechanism for evolution:

Overproduction Inherited Variation Struggle to Survive Successful reproduction Adaptation of the species

Video clip from: Natural Selection of Plants and Animals Video clip from: Natural Selection of Plants and Animals. AIMS Multimedia. 1993. unitedstreaming. 6 January 2006 <http://www.unitedstreaming.com/>

This opposed beliefs of early scientists: Cuvier &Bonnet: catastrophes force change Lamark: inheritance of acquired characteristics

Acquired Characteristics... Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics... Animals gain traits over their lives If a trait was good, the animal lived That animal then passed the trait to its offspring ex: The Giraffe’s Long Neck

Carl Linnaeus (1700s) Classification system based on similarities among organisms Noticed that things had or could “change” but was very religious Would not analyze or interpret changes

Using your textbook, pages 122-125, describe: Why are tuskless elephants becoming more abundant in Africa? How do insects become resistant to insecticides? How did the finches on the Galapagos Islands become different populations?

Natural Selection Example: The Peppered Moth

Alfred Wallace & His Essay In 1858, Alfred Wallace, a young British naturalist and explorer, wrote Darwin from Malaysia while he was on an expedition. Wallace was seeking Darwin’s advice about a theory he had. At the time Darwin was one of the leading naturalists of England. However, Wallace had no idea of Darwin’s life work on his theory of natural selection because Darwin had only shared his ideas with a few close colleagues. Wallace sent Darwin an essay on his theory and it turned out that Wallace had struck upon the theory of natural selection that Darwin had been researching for 20 years. Wallace’s short sketch was far from the massive body of evidence Darwin had collected, but it’s core ideas were similar. Darwin and Wallace agreed that Wallace’s essay should be published along with a summary of Darwin’s theory. A year later, in 1859, Darwin published his book under the title The Origin of Species. Darwin’s book was fully supported by examples and 20 years of research and influence. His theory on how evolution works was eventually accepted around 1865 by most of the leading scientists of his time. Without Wallace’s prompting, Darwin might never have published his theory during his lifetime.