Charles Darwin and Natural Selection 1859- “Origin of Species”

Darwin’s Ideas Influenced by: Voyage on the Beagle (1831-1836) Observations: Plants & animals well suited to their environments Impressed by many ways organisms survived & produced offspring

Fossils

Why had so many species disappeared? How are they related to living organisms?

Geologists James Hutton and Charles Lyell Processes that form rock, mountains, and valleys are very slow Earth is much more than a few thousand years old Lyell Geological processes we observe now have occurred for millions of years Explains why marine fossils are at tops of mountains

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck By selective use or disuse, organisms acquired or lost certain traits during their lifetime These traits were passed on to their offspring Over time, this process led to change in species

Thomas Malthus, Economist Babies born faster than people dying If population growth continued, people would run out of food, water and space War, famine and disease prevents this

Artificial Selection Breeders select best traits to produce next generation