1. Charles Darwin
Studies of Evolution

2. Darwin Galapagos Island Studies:
Darwin observed many species in their natural geographical locations. He began to realize the animals had small differences that made them well suited for their environment. From this, he began to formulate ideas about evolution.
Galapagos Island Studies:
Tortoises: Shell shape and neck length fit the habitat and available food on the island

3. Darwin Galapagos Island Studies:
Darwin observed many species in their natural geographical locations. He began to realize the animals had small differences that made them well suited for their environment. From this, he began to formulate ideas about evolution.
Galapagos Island Studies:
Finches: Beak shapes fit the need of the different foods available in their habitat (insects, fruit, nuts, seeds, leaves, etc)

4. Darwin’s Influences Geology: the earth is old – Charles Lyell
Organisms change – Jean Baptiste Lamarck
Populations are limited – Thomas Malthus
Farmers/Breeders can select for best traits

5. Geology - Lyell
(1830’s) Charles Lyell helped scientists to see that the processes that were shaping the earth (volcanoes, earthquakes, erosion) happened over millions of years.
Darwin asked – if the earth could change over millions of years, could life forms change too?

6. Three main ideas about how organism change over time
Jean Baptiste Lamarck
Three main ideas about how organism change over time
Tendency towards perfection
Use and disuse
Inheritance of acquired traits

7. Lamarck cont. Tendency towards perfection:
Organisms constantly try to improve themselves – acquiring traits to help them survive
Ex: Giraffes

8. Lamarck cont. Use and Disuse:
Body parts that get used more, become prominent, body parts that are not used waste away
Ex: Crab claw

9. Lamarck cont. Inheritance of Acquired Traits
Based on first two ideas, organisms change their traits over the course of their lives
The last idea is that they pass on these acquired traits

10. Is this really true? Can you pass on acquired traits?

11. Video Clip – How does this relate to Lamarck’s Theories?

12. Population Growth - Malthus
Thomas Malthus was an economist who published a book about human populations in 1798.
Malthus predicted that the human populations were going to out grow the resources on earth
(***Remember – Limiting factors***)
Darwin suspected this was the case for other living things as well

13. Artificial Selection
Artificial Selection: Plants and animals have natural variations (differences within the population). Farmers bred their best plants and animals, because it produced more profit for them (artificially selected for the best traits)

14. (Extra Artificial Selection Info)
Breed: a group within the same species (that means they can mate and produce fertile offspring)
All dogs are the same species, Canis familiaris, and descendents of wolves
Dog Breeders selected desirable traits and only allowed dogs with that trait to mate, creating different breeds
Artificial selection provides a model that helps us to understand natural selection

15. Vocabulary
Darwin thought artificial selection was occurring naturally in the world
Fitness: The ability for an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment
Adaptation: Inherited characteristic that increases an organisms chance of survival

16. Darwin’s idea – Natural Selection
Variations exist in populations
Some variations are favorable
Not all young produced in each generation can survive
The individuals that survive and reproduce have the favorable variation and pass it on

17. Darwin – Survival of the fittest
The organism most fit to live in its environment will survive and pass on the traits
*** MISCONCEPTION ALERT: Fittest is not the same as strongest

18. Darwin Brain Pop

19. Funny Simpsons Clip (Is this REALLY how evolution happens?)

20.  Home Work! 
Concept map!

21. Natural Selection Quick write:
Lamarck was wrong, giraffes don’t stretch their necks then pass on the longer neck trait. How would DARWIN explain the increase in giraffe height over time using the main points of natural selection?