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Darwin & Natural Selection Darwin & Natural Selection

Charles Darwin proposed the theory of natural selection to explain evolution. Through his observations on a voyage and of fossils, Darwin noticed that organisms were well-adapted to their environments. He proposed that organisms vary genetically, compete for limited resources, and that naturally occurring variations that aid survival will be selected for and passed on, leading to evolution over many generations. This mechanism of natural selection can create diversity and drive adaptive changes in populations.

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Aarthi Kuppannan
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89 views

Darwin & Natural Selection Darwin & Natural Selection

Charles Darwin proposed the theory of natural selection to explain evolution. Through his observations on a voyage and of fossils, Darwin noticed that organisms were well-adapted to their environments. He proposed that organisms vary genetically, compete for limited resources, and that naturally occurring variations that aid survival will be selected for and passed on, leading to evolution over many generations. This mechanism of natural selection can create diversity and drive adaptive changes in populations.

Uploaded by

Aarthi Kuppannan
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Darwin & Natural Selection

Unit 6: Evolution
Chapter 15
Theory of Evolution
 Evolution: The process of change
over time
 Specifically, a change in the frequency
of a gene or allele in a population over
time
Charles Darwin
 Father of Evolution
 Proposed a mechanism for
evolution, natural selection
 Darwin went on a 5-year trip
around the world on the ship,
the HMS Beagle
 As the ship’s naturalist, he
made observations of
organisms in South America
and the Galapagos Islands
•Wrote a book, “Origin of the Species”
 His observations:
 1. All plants and animals seemed to be well
suited for the environment they inhabited
 2. He was impressed by how the organisms
survived.
 3. He was impressed by how they produced
offspring
 4. He was puzzled by where different species
lived vs. where they did not live.
Stick Mantid
Flower Mantid
Darwin’s Tortoises
Darwin’s Finches
 Darwin also studied the
remains of dead
organisms (fossils)
 some seemed to resemble
the living organisms in the
same area
 some looked nothing like
anything ever seen before
Natural Selection
 Organisms that are best adapted to an
environment survive and reproduce more
than others
 Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection
occurs in four steps:
 Overproduction
 Variation
 Competition
 Selection
1. Overproduction
 Each species produces more
offspring that can survive
2. Variation
 Each individual has a
unique combination of
inherited traits.
 Adaptation: an inherited
trait that increases an
organism’s chances of
survival
What adaptations do
you see?
What adaptations do
you see?
Why is Variation Important?
 Because the environment changes.
 The more variation within a species,
species the
more likely it will survive
 EX: If everyone is the same, they are all
vulnerable to the same environmental
changes or diseases
 The more variation of types of species in
an habitat, the more likely at least some
will survive
 EX: Dinosaurs replaced by mammals
3. Competition
 Individuals COMPETE for limited
resources:
 Food, water, space, mates
 Natural selection occurs through
“Survival of the fittest”
fittest
 Fitness:
Fitness the ability to survive and reproduce
 Not all individuals survive to adulthood
4. Selection
 The individuals with the best traits /
adaptations will survive and have the
opportunity to pass on it’s traits to
offspring.
 Natural selection acts on the phenotype
(physical appearance), not the genotype
(genetic makeup)
 Individuals with traits that are not
well suited to their environment
either die or leave few offspring.
 Evolution occurs when good traits
build up in a population over many
generations and bad traits are
eliminated by the death of the
individuals.
Peppered Moth A

 Which moth will the bird catch?

B
Which
Which community
community has has aa better
better chance
chance of
of
surviving
surviving aa natural
natural disaster?
disaster?

Community A Community B
Descent with Modification
 Descent with Modification – each
living species has descended, with
changes, from other species over
time.

 Common Descent – all living


organisms are related to one another
Evidence for Evolutions:
 Fossil Record
 Homologous Body Structures
 Vestigial Organs
 Embryology
 Biochemical Evidence
The Fossil Record
 Fossils:
Fossils a record of the history of life
on Earth
Archaeopteryx
 Missing link between
reptiles and birds
Homologous Body Structures
 Homologous
Body Structures:
Structures
similar anatomy in
different types of
animals because
of common
ancestor
Vestigial Organs
 Vestigial Organs: “leftover” traces of
evolution that serve no purpose
Embryology
 Embryology:
Embryology embyos of all
vertabrates are very similar early on
Developmental
Stage
Amphibian Bird Monkey Human

Fertilized
egg

Late
cleavage

Body
segments

Limb
buds

Late fetal
Biochemical Evidence
 Biochemistry:
Biochemistry DNA with more similar
sequences suggest species are more
closely related
 EX: Humans and chimpanzees share
more than 98% of identical DNA
sequences
Coral Snake Milk Snake
(Poisonous) (Not
poisonous)

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