evolution history and personalities

Evolution: Its History and Personalities : 

Evolution: Its History and Personalities 9th Grade Biology Woodinville Montessori School Alaine Owsley Davis

Overview : 

Overview In this slide show, we will discuss: Major personalities in the development of the theory of evolution Charles Darwin, his life, work, and travels Charles Lyell Thomas Malthus Jean Baptiste Lamarck Alfred Russel Wallace How the theory of evolution came to be

Charles Darwin : 

Charles Darwin Born in England, February 12, 1809 The fifth of six children born to a wealthy family

Charles Darwin : 

Charles Darwin Charles Darwin’s father and older brother were both doctors, and at the age of 16, Charles was also sent to study medicine. He found this tedious and uninteresting. At a loss regarding what to do with his younger son, the elder Mr. Darwin sent Charles to divinity school to train as a minister.

Charles Darwin : 

Charles Darwin Charles had little interest in actually becoming a minister, but scraped by, devoting much of his spare time to collecting plants, beetles, and other interesting specimens. Such interests made him an “amateur naturalist,” and he met others interested in the natural world to discuss and compare specimens with

Charles Darwin : 

Charles Darwin When a position as a ship’s naturalist became available, Charles pulled some strings to be recommended for the job. His father saw this opportunity as a waste of time. Captain Robert FitzRoy was charged with surveying the coastline of South America to make accurate maps. His ship was The Beagle Their planned 2-year voyage ended up lasting over five years Captain FitzRoy

The Voyage of The Beagle : 

The Voyage of The Beagle

Charles Darwin : 

Charles Darwin While the crew surveyed the coastline, Darwin was dropped off on shore and picked up later He collected thousands of specimens, which were meticulously recorded, logged, and either stored or sent home to England Darwin spent a great deal of time in the Galápagos Islands, off the west coast of South America.

Galápagos Islands : 

Galápagos Islands

Galápagos Islands : 

Galápagos Islands

Galápagos Islands : 

Galápagos Islands

Darwin’s Influences : 

Darwin’s Influences Prior to his five year-voyage on The Beagle, Darwin had been exposed to the ideas of many scientists, several of whom proved very important to him in developing his theory of evolution. Three of the most important were Charles Lyell, Thomas Malthus and Jean Baptiste Lamarck.

Charles Lyell : 

Charles Lyell Lyell was a famous geologist, well established by the time Darwin read his work He proposed that huge periods of time were responsible for the development of massive and dramatic geologic features on earth, such as mountains and canyons Sir Charles Lyell

Charles Lyell : 

Charles Lyell This contradicted the common view at the time that the earth was only 6,000 years old The idea of small changes occurring over vast periods of time was a key feature in Darwin’s theory, and he credited Lyell for the influence on his thinking If the earth had undergone such dramatic changes incrementally, could life have done the same?

Charles Lyell’s Influence : 

Charles Lyell’s Influence The idea of small changes accumulating over unfathomably long periods of time was a key feature in Darwin’s theory Before his journey, Darwin wasn’t sure what to do with this idea, but it was there, germinating

Thomas Malthus : 

Thomas Malthus Another major influence on Darwin’s thinking Malthus wrote An Essay on the Principle of Population. In this essay, he observed that human populations are reduced by famine and disease Thomas Malthus

Thomas Malthus : 

Thomas Malthus An Essay on the Principle of Population There are not enough resources for all people to survive: only those who are the strongest and healthiest (at that time, the general view was that these were members of the upper class) His ideas were controversial, particularly because they contradicted the popular view of the perfectibility of society

Jean Baptiste Lamarck : 

Jean Baptiste Lamarck Lamarck was a scientist and taxonomist of some renown in his day. He believed in an evolutionary force that led organisms to become more and more complex over time.

Jean Baptiste Lamarck : 

Jean Baptiste Lamarck Lamarck is now remembered mainly for his theory of the inheritance of acquired characteristics This is the idea that characteristics which are acquired by one organism in its lifetime may be passed along to that organism’s offspring Qualities which the organism uses a lot will be passed along; those which it does not use will disappear from the species (Wikipedia)

Lamarckism : 

Lamarckism For example, Lamarckism would say that giraffes started out with short necks and legs. As those animals that stretched to reach leaves on higher trees, they became taller. They then passed their height on to their offspring.

Influences on Darwin : 

Influences on Darwin The work and thinking of these three men (Malthus, Lyell, and Lamarck) were very influential on Darwin’s work Their work informed his observations and the conclusions he drew from them during his voyage on The Beagle.

Darwin’s Observations : 

Darwin’s Observations Darwin noticed many unique species on the islands he visited in the Galápagos. They were different from those found on other, nearby islands as well as different from those found on the mainland of South America, the closest other land mass.

Darwin’s Observations : 

Darwin’s Observations Darwin particularly noticed dramatic differences between the beaks of finches found on the different islands At first, he didn’t even realize the various species were all finches, because they looked so different from each other, and from other finches he had seen in England Thirteen species of finch were found on the Galápagos Islands, and only one species on finch on the South American coast.

“Darwin’s Finches” : 

“Darwin’s Finches”

Darwin’s Finches : 

Darwin’s Finches These species of finches are a now-classic example of geographic isolation causing speciation Geographic isolation: the birds on the Galápagos were isolated from other species and lived in their own relatively small environment This resulted in speciation: the formation of new species

Darwin’s Collections : 

Darwin’s Collections Darwin sent most of his specimens back to England to be catalogued and described by experts in their fields (ornithology, entymology, etc.) He also took careful notes on all that he saw, and was quietly formulating his theory of evolution, along with copious evidence for it. Many of these notes and letters were published in England in his absence.

Darwin’s Return : 

Darwin’s Return After a 5-year absence, Darwin returned to England to find himself a celebrity in scientific circles. His specimens and articles were very well received by fellow naturalists. After a time living and working in London, Darwin found his health poor and decided to marry and move out to the country with his new wife. He continued to work in the countryside and collect evidence for his theory.

Darwin’s Work : 

Darwin’s Work Darwin was planning to publish his work on “natural selection” in a long article. This turned into a plan for a series of articles, then it became clear it would need to be a long book. In 1858, when Darwin was 49 years old, he received a letter from a young naturalist named Alfred Russel Wallace.

Alfred Russel Wallace : 

Alfred Russel Wallace Wallace was in his thirties when he wrote to Darwin, following extensive travels in the Amazon, the Malay Peninsula, and other locations around the globe collecting specimens, much as Darwin had done decades earlier Wallace’s letter, written as a young naturalist to an older, established researcher, proposed a radical theory Wallace had come up with on his own—a theory of evolution

Alfred Russel Wallace : 

Alfred Russel Wallace Wallace had been inspired by the travels of naturalists, including Darwin, to embark upon years of travel and specimen collection He repeatedly suffered from financial difficulties Darwin wrestled with the moral dilemma of what to do in this situation

Wallace and Darwin : 

Wallace and Darwin Darwin finally decided to co-publish an article about evolution with Wallace, giving him equal credit for the discovery However, given Darwin’s stature in the field, along with On the Origin of Species, his master work, which he quickly finished, Darwin is given the lions’ share of the credit in history.

Darwin’s Legacy : 

Darwin’s Legacy Most scientists and educated people came to accept Darwin’s ideas about evolution during his lifetime—a tremendous change in popular opinion on the topic

Darwin : 

Darwin He stayed in his countryside home, Down House, for the rest of his life, infrequently traveling to London for scientific meetings and lectures Died in England, April 19, 1882