exam 3 Flashcards
Who was Charles Darwin?
Charles Darwin took a position as naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle and made a trip around the world, largely in the southern hemisphere.
What did people believe before Darwin’s Theory of Evolution?
- that the Earth was young,
- Species did not change,
- variations were imperfections,
- and observations could substantiate these views
Who was Cuvier?
- an early Paleontologist
- who believed that species did not change
- he observed species come and go in the fossil record,
- and he said these changes were due to catastrophies
Who was Lamarck?
- a zoologist
- who hypothesized that evolution and adaption to the environment do occur
- He suggested that acquired characteristics could be inherited
- For example, he said giraffes stretched their necks to reach food in trees, and then this change was inherited by the next generation
What was Darwin’s conclusion based on geology and fossils?
- the earth is very old, giving time for evolution to occur
2. Living are descended from extinct forms known only from the fossil record
What are Darwin’s conclusions based on biogeography?
- living things evolve where they are. This explains, for example, why South America has the patagonian hare, whereas England has the rabbit
- Living things are adapted to local environments. This explains why there are many types of finches and tortoises in the Galapagos Islands
What did Darwin say that the result of natural selection was?
a population better adapted to its local environment than previous generations
What did Darwin say that the result of: organisms have variations?
new adaptations to the environment arise
What did Darwin say the conclusion to : organisms have variations is?
Organisms become more adapted with each generation
What did Darwin say the result of: organisms struggle to exist?
more organisms are present than can survive
What did Darwin say the conclusion of : organisms struggle to exist?
Organisms become more adapted with each generation
What did Darwin say the result of: organisms differ in fitness?
organisms best suited to the environment survive and reproduce
What did Darwin say the conclusion of: organisms differ in fitness?
organisms become more adapted with each generation
Who was Alfred Russel Wallace?
- a naturalist who, like Darwin, traveled to other continents in the southern hemisphere.
- he also collected evidence of common descent
- and his reading of Malthus caused him to develop the same mechanism for adaptation (natural selection) as Darwin
Was Darwin’s or Wallace’s work more thorough?
- Darwin’s work was more thorough,
2. as evidenced by his book on the origin of species
