Where are we going with this? The information on this page should increase understanding related to this standard: Identify chronological patterns of change and communicate that biological evolution is supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence that identify similarities inherited from a common ancestor (homologies).
Article includes ideas, images, and content from Troy Smigielski (2022-01)
Charles Darwin and His Influences
(This guy… I've heard of him!)
Charles Darwin was an English naturalist who became known as the “Father of Evolution.” As with most major figures, he had many people influence his thoughts. Darwin's work took place in the middle of the 1800s.
Two scientists who greatly influenced Darwin by helping him realize the apparent age of the Earth were Hutton and Lyell.
James Hutton proposed that rocks, mountains, and other formations change very slowly over time. This led him to believe that Earth must be more than a few thousand years old.
So… he got famous for saying rocks are old… Hmm…
Hutton's observations and his conclusion departed from the idea that all of the world was only a few thousand years old.
Another of Darwin's influences, Charles Lyell argued that the shape of the Earth’s crust was the result of small changes over millions of years. (rivers and soil)
Lyell's views were congruent with those of Hutton, and they yielded more fodder for Darwin's ideas. Meanwhile, other scientists were taking not of other things.
Lamarck also proposed that the selective use or disuse of certain organs caused organisms to acquire or lose certain traits over time. Organs that are very reduced in size or have evolved to have no use are called vestigial organs.
What are some organs humans have gained or lost function for over time?
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| The Appendix |
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| Wisdom Teeth |
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| Apparent “Tail” During Embryo Development |
Another scientist, Thomas Malthus, studied population growth. He found that the human birth rate exceeded the death rate. If this continued, humans may run out of resources. Since resources, if renewable in the first place, are produced at a constant rate, if the number of resource consumers (population) increases, then the access to resources is limited.
If resources are limited, there will be competition. This could change a population over time. If the population relied on the resource, exhausting it would have in impact on the members of the population.
This is observed frequently in numerous ecosystems as populations grow or shrink according available resources. Wildlife managers attend to this relationship regularly.
During the 2020-22 pandemic, as more people either got COVID-19 or were vaccinated, the resources for COVID-19 became limited. So, the original strain had to either change or die off.
Before Darwin's publication in 1859, Alfred Russel Wallace published an essay covering the same topic and ideas that Darwin was interested in. This gave Darwin an incentive to publish his own work.
One of Darwin’s most significant works started on a voyage he took in the 1830s.
On this trip, he took a famous voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle to study the diversity of life.
From start to finish, this trip lasted for about 5 years. During his trip, he kept notes in a notebook. Some of his most influential notes came during his visit to the Galapagos Islands.
On the Galapagos Islands, Darwin noted that similar species of finches had different sizes and shapes of their beaks.
Why would these similar birds have different sized beaks?
To accommodate for different environmental factors and types of food based on where they lived.
Darwin published his most interesting notes in his book titled On the Origin of Species. This book detailed key terms for natural selection and contained his “evidence” for evolution.
Common Misconception: Darwin DID NOT argue that humans evolved from apes in this book, nor did he ever argue that.
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