Darwin Flashcards
So what did Darwin really do? please think of four things :)
he made a convincing case for the reality of evolutionary change. It was not the first case, but it was the first case to be widely accepted among biologists.
He killed essentialism in biology
he presented a reasonable mechanism for evolution: NATURAL SELECTION
he explained the apparent design and purpose in organisms in a natural way. he banished teleological explanation from biology
Darwins life 1809-1882
where did he go to school?
lived without financial worries
his father sent him to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine, but
he lacked interest and motivation
While at Edinburgh, he became interested in natural history and
geology. He met Robert Grant, a zoologist and Lamarckian, and Robert
Jameson, from whom Darwin took a naturalist course.
What was his role on the beagle?
ships naturalist and to keep the captain company
When Darwin returned to England he married Emma wegewood (his cousin) and moved to the down house. He then published 3 book wat were they?
The voyage of the beagle
five volume woke on invertebrates he had collected
the structure and distruction of Coral reefs
When Darwin was home what did he start thinking about?
evolution which back then was called species transmutation
How was the state of Darwins health?
very poor for most of his life
What did darwin research at the Down house?
Barnacles - 8 years
evolution including human
earthworms
animal behaviour
insectivorous plants
power of movement in plants
plant reproduction
domestication of plants and animals and their variation
The origin of species
his work on evolution was the result of what?
of primary observations by himself and by others not the odeas of prior evolutionary thinkers
in July 1837 Darwin started a notebook on species transmutation this lead him to think what?
that with his observations and material he had gathered on his voyage he was convinced that evolution occurs
What else about evolution did Darwin search for to strengthen his evolutionary theories?
the cause of evolutionary change. He wondered what natural phenomenon could select for certain inherited traits the way artificial selection could
What happened to Darwins sketch he made in 1842 and the essay he wrote in 1844?
Neither were published in his lifetime. the sketch had some of his evolutionary ideas and the essay was 160 pages long
Why did Darwin keep his 1844 eassay a secret?
Effort was too slight
Wanted to strong up his reputation as a naturalist
Worried about the vestiges
In 1854 Darwin returned to his evolutionary work after eight years of studying what?
barnacles
in 1856 Darwin began writing a 1000 page book he wanted to call Natural Selection who encouraged this?
Lyell and Hooker but they had warmed him he may be scooped
What did Alfred Russel Wallace do?
he was an english naturalist living in Indo in 1858 he wrote a brief outline of evolution by natural selection and sent it to Darwin for his opinion, unaware that darwin had been working on the same thing
What did Darwin do with the letter that Alfred Russel Wallace?
darwin arranged for three papers to be read to a meeting of Linnaean society in july 1858
first a five page summary of darwins ideas
a copy of letters to Asa Gray from 1857 to show he had not stolen any ideas
last wallaces paper
After 1858 Darwin abandoned what and started working on what?
absndoned Natural selection and began writing a shorter presentation of his ideas, YOU GUESSED IT “ The Origin of species” was written in 15 months at a time of bad health for Darwin and the world was never the same
What did the origin of species devote much of its attention to?
artificial selections as well as natural selection and the rest showed common descent explains morphological similarities in systematic groupings, embryological similarities, rudimentary and vestigial organs, the geographical distribution of organisms and fossil sequences in the stratigraphical column…. and thats it
What were Darwins two causes for evolutionary change?
natural selection
use and disuse
What was the reception of Darwins work?
within a decade the reality of organic evolution was accepted by biology and a large portions of the general public.
What were the two types of debates that arose in regards to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection?
whether Darwin was correct or not and if he were correct the meaning of evolution might be for society, morality and philosophy
What did Fleeming Jenkin do?
the said that Darwins evolution is inconsistent with what is known about heredity and the natural species
natural selection acting on small genetic variants connot change species beyond fixed limits
large ggenetic variants will quickly be blended out by sexual reproduction, because offspring tend to be intermediate in appearacne relative to their parents
What did A W Bennet say about natural selection?
natural selection cannot fashion complicated adaptations requring many stepts, because each step would have to be both small but adaptive
Sir william Thomson’s thoughts on Darwin evolution?
the Earth has not been habitable by life for long enough time for darwinian evolution to have occurred. The sun does not have enough energy reserves to have existed for very long
^^ were did this guy get his facts lol
What 2 types of hereditary variation did Darwin suggest could arise?
- A “sport”, some conspicuous variant
2. “Individual variation”, small differences between animals arising from genetic or environmental influences.
What did Darwin call his model of heredity? What “hereditary factor” did he propose got passed on the offspring? What ancient had a similar model?
“Pangenesis” suggested that there existed “gemmules” which migrate from all over the body to the sex cells and influence what gets passed to the offspring. A similar model as was suggested by the Hippocratics.
