1. EVOLUTION Darwin’s Book

2. The Journey Home On the journey home, Darwin studied his specimens and observations, began to develop theories Darwin knew that his ideas would be considered radical – creationism was the view of the time

3. The Ancient, Changing Earth Darwin studied work of Charles Lyell, geologist Lyell believed that natural, geological forces shaped the face of the Earth, and that the Earth was older than people believed Darwin used Lyell’s work to explain fossils he found

4. The Problem of Reproduction Darwin also influences by Thomas Malthus, economist Malthus observed that birth rate was much higher than death rate, and this could lead to the Earth being overrun by humans Malthus argued that things like war, famine, and disease were limiting factors on population

5. The Problem of Reproduction Darwin saw that plants and animals reproduce much faster than humans If nothing were limiting this reproduction, the plants and animals would have overrun Earth centuries ago This meant that the majority of offspring of each species die, and only a few that survive succeed in reproducing

6. Darwin’s Findings Darwin published On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection in 1859 (30 years after the Beagle) Rushed publication to beat out Alfred Russel Wallace, who had identical ideas Darwin’s book described the huge amount of evidence to support evolution and gave a hypothesis as to how and why it occurs

7. Evolution Each living species is the result of millions of years of evolution Many of Darwin’s ideas have shown to be accurate, while others have been disproved The body of scientific knowledge built on the concept of evolution is always changing

8. Life In Constant Motion The concept of evolution implies that life may always be changing If enough variation exists in a species, and if environmental conditions change, the species will evolve.

9. Life In Constant Motion An example of this is the peppered moths in England in the 1760s Another example is bacteria that cause disease are constantly becoming antibiotic resistant

10. Importance of Genetic Diversity Gives rise to inheritable variation, providing the raw material for evolution Without genetic diversity, natural selection would have nothing to act upon and species could not change

11. Importance of Genetic Diversity Species MUST be able to change because of natural processes and human influence Genetic diversity is a result of millions of years of random mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift