DARWIN’S

THEORY
ACTIVITY TIME!!!
1. What are the contributions
of Charles Darwin?
2. What happens in the
process of natural selection?
3. How does the environment
influence natural selection?
CHARLES DARWIN (1809-
1882)  Born February 12, 1809
 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
 1859- published “On the
Origin of Species”
 1882- Died and buried in
Westminster Abbey, London
UK
HMS BEAGLE  When he was 22 years old,
Darwin applied to be the
naturalist aboard a ship, HMS
Beagle, that was setting out from
England to go chart the coastline
around South America. The
expedition was to last 2 years,
but ended up lasting 5. During
that time, Darwin collected many
specimens and made detailed
observations about the species
he encountered.
VOYAGE OF BEAGLE
Dates: February 12th, 1831
Captain: Charles Darwin
Ship: H.M.S. Beagle
Destination: Voyage around the world.
Findings: evidence to propose a
revolutionary hypothesis about how life
changes over time
 Observations Aboard the Beagle
Species Vary Globally
Different, but similar, animals
inhabited separate, but similar,
habitats
That some similar environments
have very different animals.
(Kangaroos in Australia but not
England)
 Species Vary Locally

Different, yet related, animals occupied

different habitats within a local area

Exs. – Tortoises and Birds in the Galapagos

Islands varied from island to island
 THE GALAPAGOS
ISLAND
The smallest, lowest islands
were hot, dry, and nearly
barren-Hood Island-sparse
vegetation

The higher islands had

greater rainfall and a
different assortment of
plants and animals-Isabela-
Island had rich vegetation.
 THE GALAPAGOS
ISLAND
Darwin was fascinated in particular by the
land tortoises and marine iguanas in the
Galápagos.
Giant tortoises varied in predictable ways
from one island to another.
The shape of a tortoise's shell could be
used to identify which island a particular
tortoise inhabited.
 Galapagos Island Fauna

Galapagos Tortoise

Marine Iguana
 Galapagos Island Fauna

Galapagos Sea Lion

Blue-footed Booby
THE JOURNEY HOME
Darwin Observed that
characteristics of many plants and
animals vary greatly among the
islands

Hypothesis: Separate species may

have arose from an original ancestor
 IDEAS THAT SHAPED

DARWIN’S
James Hutton:
THINKING
 1795 Theory of Geological change
 Forces change earth’s surface shape
 Changes are slow
 Earth much older than thousands of years
 Hutton proposed that rocks form very slowly
and are changed by forces that twist, lift and
fold them

 He also realized that mountains can be worn

down by rain, wind, heat and cold

 In order for these events to occur, he

concluded that the Earth must be more than
a few thousand years old
IDEAS THAT SHAPED
DARWIN’S THINKING
Charles Lyell
 Book: Principles of Geography
 Geographical features can be
built up or torn down
 Darwin thought if earth
changed over time, what
about life?
 Believed that the geological
processes we see today must
be the same ones that shaped
Earth millions of years ago
JEAN BAPTISTE DE LAMARCK
POPULATION GROWTH
 Thomas Malthus-19th
century English
economist
 If population grew (more
Babies born than die)
 Insufficient living space
 Food runs out
 Darwin applied this
theory to animals
How this helped Darwin
– He reasoned that what Malthus proposed for
human populations also applied to all living
things.
– He observed that most organisms produce many
more offspring than survive.
– He wondered which individuals would survive .
. . and why
– If all the offspring that were produced did
survive, they would overrun the world.
 PUBLICATION OF ORIGIN OF
SPECIES
Russel Wallace wrote an
essay summarizing
evolutionary change
from his field work in
Malaysia

Gave Darwin the drive to

publish his findings
 Artificial Selection
To find an explanation for change in nature,
Darwin studied the changes produced by plant and
animal breeders
Some plants bear larger or smaller fruits than
others
Some cows give more or less milk than others in
their herd
This told Darwin that variation could be passed
from parents to offspring and used to improve
crops and livestock
 Artificial Selection
In artificial selection, nature provides the variations, and
humans select the ones they find useful
Darwin knew that variation occurs in wild species as well
as domesticated species
He realized that that natural variation provided the raw
material for evolution
Artificial Selection
 Evolution by Natural Selection

NATURAL SELECTION
– is the process by which organisms with variations
most suited to their local environment survive and
leave more offspring.
– Organisms that are best adapted to an environment
survive and reproduce more than others.
Theory of Natural Selection
Consists of 5 main ideas:
1. Variation and Adaptation
2. Overproduction
3. Struggle for existence
4. Survival of the fittest
5. Origin of new species by inheritance of
successful variations or Selection
1.Variation
Individuals within a species are not identical; they have
variations.
Individuals have natural variations among their inheritable
traits
These variations may affect the individual’s ability to get
food, escape predators, find a mate, etc.
These variations can be passed on to offspring.
Why is Variation Important?
Because the environment changes.
The more variation within a 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
Adaptation
Any heritable characteristic that increases an organisms
ability to survive and reproduce in its environment.
– Examples of Adaptations:
• Tiger’s claws
• Camouflage colors
• Plant structures
• Avoidance behaviors
Physical Adaptations –the physical characteristics of the
organism.

Ex. 1: Teeth – shape indicates type of food consumed.

* Sharp & pointed – carnivores (tigers, sharks,
alligators)
* Flat – herbivores (cows, elephants, goats)
* Combination – omnivores (humans)

Ex. 2: Camouflage – organisms blend in with their environment.

(Arctic fox, rattle snake, tree frog, parrot)

Ex. 3: Mimicry – organisms that look like other organisms for

protection
from predators. (walking stick, viceroy butterfly,
scarlet king snake)
Physiological Adaptations – structural differences that enhance
survival.

Ex. 1: Bats have sonar. The ability to detect distances by

bouncing signals off objects.
Ex. 2: Camels can go for days
without water.
The ability to store water.
Ex. 3: Whales and dolphins have adapting breathing so they can
remain under water for longer periods
of time.
Ex. 4: Some plants (mushrooms, poison oak &
ivy) have chemicals that are
poisonous.
Behavioral Adaptation
2. Overproduction

Most species produce far more offspring

than are needed to maintain the population.
3. Struggle for Existence
Living space and food is limited and so individuals within a
species must compete with each other in order to live long
enough to reproduce.
– From Malthus’ theory of supply and demand, Darwin reasoned
that if more individuals are produced than can survive, they will
have to compete for food, living space and other necessities of
life
– Darwin described this as the struggle for existence
4. Survival of the Fittest
Darwin felt that there must be a connection between an
animal’s environment and how it survives
Ability to survive and reproduce in a specific
environment is called FITNESS
Fitness depends upon how well an organism is suited
for its environment
Fitness is a result of ADAPTATION
Good adaptations allow organisms to survive and are
passed on to their offspring.

Good fitness: Reproduce

Low Fitness: Few offspring/extinction

Darwin thought that this seemed very similar to artificial

selection
He referred to “survival of the fittest” as Natural Selection
Survival means more than just staying alive. It means
reproducing and passing adaptations on to the next
generation
Natural Selection: Nature chooses
Artificial selection: Man chooses
Favorable characteristics are inherited over several
generations.
 Artificial Selection
(Breeding Livestock)

Natural Selection
(Bird of Paradise Mating Display)
5. Origin of New Species or Selection
Over many generations, favorable adaptations
gradually accumulate in the species and
unfavorable ones disappear.
Eventually the changes become so great that the
end result is a new species.
 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)
– Ex: When a predator finds its prey, it is due to the
prey’s physical characteristics, like color or slow
speed, not the alleles (BB, Bb)
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.
 Natural Selection
Natural Selection is the process by which organisms with
variations most suited to their local environment survive
and leave more offspring

Natural Selection occurs in any situation in which more

individuals are born than can survive
Over time, natural selection results in
changes in the inherited characteristics of
a population.

These changes increase a species’ fitness

in its environment.
 DARWIN'S FOUR POSTULATES
individuals within species vary
some of these variations are passed on to offspring
individuals vary in their ability to survive and
reproduce
individuals with the most favorable adaptations are
more likely to survive and reproduce.
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
The Evolution of the Horse
If we look back far enough we could find the
common ancestors of all living things.

A single “tree of life” links all living things

This is known as the principle of common descent.

3 Fundamental kinds of Natural
Selection
1. Directional selection
. – when evolution of a species occurs in one
direction.

Ex. Peppered moths –

* Original population of light color moths.

Industrial revolution covers trees with black
soot.

* Light color moths are visible on trees and

eaten by birds. Do Not survive & reproduce.

* Black color moths blend in with trees, survive

& reproduce .

* Population has moved in one direction

to favor dark color.
2. Stabilizing Selection – the average is favored to survive & reproduce.

Ex. Rabbits with different leg lengths and a fox.

• Rabbits with short legs cannot run fast,

caught & eaten by fox.
Do not survive & reproduce.

• Rabbits with long legs can run fast but cannot

get into rabbit hole quickly, caught & eaten by
fox. Do not survive & reproduce.

• Rabbits with medium legs can run fast & get

into rabbit hole. Survive & reproduce more
medium length legged rabbits.
3. Disruptive Selection – the extremes are favored to survive & reproduce.
Ex. Acorns of different sizes and squirrels.
• Squirrels can easily find large acorns but
cannot carry away. Large acorns grow into
trees that produce large acorns.

* Squirrels cannot find small acorns. Small

acorns survive and grow into trees that
produce small acorns.

* Squirrels can find & carry away medium

acorns. Medium acorns do not survive.