Scientific Contributions To A Theory of Evolution

Scientific Contributions to a
Theory of Evolution
By: Doss, Daniel S., and Mark
Where did we come from
● This question has been debated for thousands of years
● Early ideas of where human came from were based on philosophy and religion
● These ideas suggested that all forms of life had existed from the beginning, nothing
changed since their creation
Empirical studies
● Started in the 1600’s by John Ray

● These studies involved observation and experiments to form hypotheses about nature
● John Ray developed a classification system for plants and animals based on anatomy
and physiology, it was then extended by Carolus Linnaeus
Georges-Louis Leclerc,Comte de Buffon (1707-1788)
● Was one of the first people to publicly
challenge the idea that life forms are
unchanging
● He pointed out that humans and apes were
very similar
● He speculated that humans and apes might
have a common ancestor
● This suggested that species can change over
time
● Buffon also suggested that the earth was older
than 6000 years
The Science of Paleontology
● Fossils are important to study evolution
● A fossil is the preserved remains of a once living organism
● Fossils can be preserved in many different types of material such as:
● Amber, permafrost, dry caves, and rocks
Paleontology continued
● George Cuvier is credited with developing the
science of paleontology
● Paleontology is the study of ancient life
through the examination of fossils
● Cuvier found that each layer of rock, which is
called a stratum, is characterized by a unique
group of fossil species
● He also found that the deeper and older the
stratum, the more different the species are
from modern life
● Cuvier then found evidence that proved that
species can become extinct
Catastrophism
● To explain his observations Cuvier proposed the idea that the earth experienced
destructive natural events in the past, i.e. floods
● These events called “revolutions” were violent enough to kill numerous species
● He then said those areas affected by those natural disasters were taken over by other
species and they repopulated
● This idea is called catastrophism
Charles Lyell (1797-1875)
● Charles Lyell isone of the scientists that rejected catastrophism
● He instead proposed, based on a geologist called James Hutton, the geological
processes operated at the ame rates in the past as they do today
● Lyell reasoned that is the geological processes were slow and continuous rather than
catastrophic, then the earth might be more than 6000 years
● He also theorized that slow, and subtle processes during a long period of time could
result in big changes
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829)
● Compared current species of animals with fossil forms
● He observed what he called “the line of descent” or progression, in which a series of
fossils led to a modern species
● He thought that species increased in complexity over time, until they reached a level
of perfection
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck continued
● Lamarck hypothesized that the organisms
would become progressively better adapted to
their environment
● At the time it was thought that body parts that
were used extensively to cope with conditions
in the environment would become larger and
stronger
● For example giraffes stretched their necks to
eat from tall trees, so over time the stretched
neck condition was passed onto its offspring
(this isn’t how they developed longnecks)
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck continued
● Lamarck called his idea the inheritance of acquired characteristics
● Lamarck also suggested that body parts not used would eventually disappear
● Lamarck provided a hypotheses for how the inheritance of characteristics from one
generation to the next might happen.
Charles Darwin’s Journey
Charles Darwin left England in 1831. The primary purpose his
trip was to map the coast of South America. He made many
observations which contributed to his theory of evolution by
natural selection.
His Observations
- Rodents in South America are structurally similar to one
another, but different from rodents in other conditions.
- Fossils of extinct animals look very similar to the animals
of today.
- Each type of Galapagos Finch was adapted to eating
different types of food, based on size, and beak shape.
Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
After Darwin’s Trip, he tried to find out why these things were
happening. Alfred Russel Wallace had the same goal. They
both accepted that populations change over time, but it was
unclear how. An essay by Thomas Malthus provided them
with a key idea. Malthus proposed that populations produce
more offsprings than their environment can support. These
populations are reduced by starvation, and disease.
Natural Selection
Individuals with traits that help them survive in their local
environment are more likely to pass on their traits. The
competition for limited resources between individuals of the
same species, filters the species from unfavorable genetics
for living in that certain area. As time passes, all the
individuals in the population will receive them. This is the idea
of survival of the fittest, or as Darwin called it natural selection
Darwin’s Theory
Darwin’s theory of natural selection shows how populations of
individual species become better adapted to their
environment over time. His Ideas are summarized as follows.
- Individuals of a population vary extensively.
- Individuals that are better suited to local conditions survive
to produce more offsprings.
- The process of change in a species in a certain
environment is slow and gradual
Descent with Modification
Darwin used the phrase “ descent with modification” instead
of the word “evolution.” Darwin felt the word “evolution”
implied progress. Natural selection does not demonstrate
progress, it is about the ability of certain individuals to survive
in local environments, and to pass on the traits that helped
them survive.
Fossils
Sedimentary rock fossils provide a fossil record of the history
of life by showing the kinds of species that were alive in the
past.
In the Burgess Shale fossil beds, people found fossils of

animals that lived over 500 years ago. The Burgess Shale
fossil beds preserved some of the earliest animals with hard
parts that could be preserved by fossil, some of which are
ancestors of animals that are common today. Others are
unlike any animals in the modern world.
Evidence From Fossil Record
1. Fossils Found in young layers of rock are much more similar to species alive
today than fossils found in older, deeper layers of rock
2. Fossils appear in chronological order in rock layers meaning probable

ancestors for a species are found in older rocks, which usually lie beneath the
rock on which later the species is found
3. Not all organisms appear in the fossil record at the same time
Evidence from Transitional Fossils
- Original fossil gave only scattered “snapshots” of ancestral form and scientists
worried
- Transitional Fossils is a fossil that show intermediary links between groups
of organisms and shares characteristics common to two now seperate
groups; helps scientist better understand evolutionary between groups of
organisms.
- Structures that are reduced forms of structures that were functional in
organism’s ancestors are called vestigial structures
- Archaeopteryx is the fossil of a previously unknown dinosaur called
Atrociraptor. Discovered near Alberta. Atrociraptor was a small meat eating
dinosaur. Thought to be known as a close non-birdlike relative of
Archaeopteryx
Evidence from Biogeography
- Biogeography is the study of the past and present geographical distribution of
organisms. Some hypothesis were;
- Geographically close environments are most likely to be populated by related
species than are locations that are geographically separated but
environmentally
- Animals found on islands often closely resemble animals found on closest
continent which means that animals on islands have evolved. This suggests
that animals on islands have evolved from mainland migrants, with
populations being adapted over time as they adjust to environmental
conditions of their new home
- Fossils of the same species can be on the coastline of neighbouring
continents
- Closely related species are almost never found in the same habitat or location
Evidence From Anatomy
-Homologous structures are structures that have similar elements and origin but
may have a different function
- As you can see these vertebrates have the same basic arrangement of
bones, but the bones have different uses.
- Homologous structures can be similar in structure, function, or both
Cont’d
-Body parts that perform similar functions, even though the organisms do not have
a close common evolutionary origin, are called analogous structures
Homologous Hair
- Mammals are the only animals that have hair. Hair can vary in length, density,
texture, and colour but the basic structure of hair is the same in all mammals
- Each hair has a central medulla surrounded by a dense cortex which contains
most of the pigment granules that give each strand of hair its colour
- A layer called the cuticle covers the cortex; the scales of the cuticle are
specific to a particular genus or even species of mammals thus, mammalian
hair has a common origin but can serve different function
Evidence from Embryology
● Embryology is the study of early pre-birth stages of an organism’s development
● Has been used to determine evolutionary relationships between animals
● Embryos of different organisms exhibit stages of embryonic development
● For example vertebrate embryos have paired pouches, or outer pokecketings of the
throat. In fish these pouches develop into gills, in humans the pouches become parts
of ears and throat
● Similarities are easier to find than differences in vertebrates
Embryology continued
● The similarities between embryos in related groups such as vertebrates point ti a
common ancestral origin
Evidence from DNA
● Scientists can determine how closely related 2 organisms are by comparing their
DNA
● If 2 species have similar patterns in their DNA, this indicates that these DNA
sequences must have inherited a common ancestor
● The use of modern tech has led to many discoveries that support Darwin’s theory
● Scientists now know how species pass on their traits, and how genes for these traits
could change by mutation

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Scientific Contributions to a

● Started in the 1600’s by John Ray

In the Burgess Shale fossil beds, people found fossils of

2. Fossils appear in chronological order in rock layers meaning probable

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