1.3.2 Darwin: The Voyage Continues

Question 1

Charles Darwin

Answer 1

• During his voyage on the HMS Beagle, he made observations and used them as a basis for his theory of evolution by natural selection.
• supported the theory of gradualism and its notion that slow continuous changes shape the earth’s geological features. The theory gave Darwin the idea that the earth’s organisms have also been subject to slow,
  continuous change.

Question 2

biogeography

Answer 2

• the study of the past and present distribution of individual species and entire communities

Question 3

Cape Verde

Answer 3

• found fossils of shells on the cliff tops. Clam fossils of clams and petrified wood were found in the Andes Mountains. Applying the theory of gradualism, Darwin posed the following question:
  • Did the location of these apparently marine fossils indicate that the cliff once had been submerged in the ocean?

Question 4

Argentina

Answer 4

• Darwin found fossils of giant quadrupeds that
  resembled elephants and hippos. Darwin speculated:
  • What happened to these animals?

Question 5

South America

Answer 5

• found fossils of horses throughout South America, a discovery that raised questions related to biogeography. Up to this point, Darwin thought that the Spaniards
  were the first to bring horses to the Americas

Question 6

earthqukake

Answer 6

• occurred, and overnight the sea level rose three feet:
  • If great changes can occur in a relatively short time, couldn’t drastic changes in the
  environment take place over long periods
  of time?

Question 7

The significance of the fossils of shells that Darwin found in the Cape Verde islands was that

Answer 7

• they were found at the top of a cliff

Question 8

What question did his discovery of horse fossils in South America raise in Darwin’s mind?

Answer 8

• If horses weren’t indigenous to South America, how did the fossils get there?

Question 9

Many of Charles Darwin’s ideas

Answer 9

• developed during his travels on the HMS Beagle.
• developed from his observations of fossilized remains.
• were influenced by the ideas of James Hutton and Charles Lyell.

Question 10

Biogeography is

Answer 10

• the study of how organisms are distributed around the planet.

Question 11

The significance of the quadruped fossils Darwin found while exploring Argentinean riverbeds was that

Answer 11

• they represented species that were extinct