1. 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

2. Video Games

3. Nintendo – 1980’s

4. 1990’s computer games
Wolfenstein 3-D
SimCity

5. 1995 – Play Station

7. Charles Darwin
The man and his ideas...

8. *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

9. Captain Fitzroy HMS Beagle
From:
HMS Beagle
From:

10. Map of Darwin’s Cabin on the HMS Beagle

11. 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.

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

13. Galapagos Islands

14. *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

15. Darwin’s Tree of Life
– showing a common ancestor

16. Darwin's Finches
Tree Finch
Cactus Finch
Ground Finch

17. Darwin's Finches

18. -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.

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

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

22. 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 unitedstreaming. 6 January 2006 <

23. Selective Breeding (animals)

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

25. 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

26. Thomas Malthus ( )
If humans over reproduce so do animals in nature, but competition keeps populations in check

27. 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:

28. 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

29. 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.

30. Natural Selection
Darwin’s mechanism for evolution:

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

32. Video clip from: Natural Selection of Plants and Animals
Video clip from: Natural Selection of Plants and Animals. AIMS Multimedia unitedstreaming. 6 January 2006 <

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

34. 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

36. 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

37. 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?

38. Natural Selection Example:
The Peppered Moth

39. 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.