From the Origin of Life to Evolutionary School of Thought

(April 13-17, 2020)

Objective:
Trace the development of Evolutionary thought (STEM_BIO11/12IIIc-g-11)

Lamarck’s Theory of Adaptation

One of the first proponents of the idea of evolution is the French scientist Jean Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-
1829). Around 1800, some scientists started to question whether living organisms could really change their structure or
form, and if they are able to do so, how did this process happen? Lamarck suggested the concept of inheritance of
acquired characteristics. He proposed that if an animal could develop a particular characteristic in its lifetime, then this
trait could be passed on to their offspring and its succeeding generations. He cited as an example the long neck of
giraffe. In his view, the reason why the giraffe has long neck is because it stretches its neck to reach for the leaves on
high tree branches. This particular trait is developed and passed on to the next generation. At that time, most scientist
thought that Lamarck was silly and only a few radical thinkers, like Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin’s grandfather,
believed in the concept of single origin and changes in species.

Charles Darwin and Natural selection

The theory of evolution was popularized in the middle of nineteen when Charles Darwin (1809-1882), an English
naturalist and geologist developed his theory about evolution. His expedition around the world from 1831-1836 on HMS
Beagle as a young naturalist enabled him to study different specimens around the globe. During his expedition, he
witnessed the diversity of life forms including some fossil records that were as big as hippos. Darwin had read Malthus’
essay about human population growth where he argued that human population would increase more rapidly that food
supply. This would lead to competition for food and only the fittest and most able would survive. This idea, along with
his studies of various specimens, led Darwin to formulate his now well-known concept of “natural selection”. Darwin’s
logic was that, if an organism developed and possessed a small inherited variation that would increase the individual’s
ability to compete, survive, and reproduce, then this characteristic will be passed on to the next generation. The rest of
the organism that did not have the trait will not survive. Therefore, through time, species became gradually adapted to
their environment, leading to the evolution of new species. In 1859, he published this idea in his Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection. Despite the fact that it took several decades before the scientific community were
convinced of his proposed mechanism of natural selection, his theory of evolution (shared ancestry) was widely
accepted by biologist and scientist alike.

Alfred Russel Wallace: The Father of Biogeography

With an already accepted theory of evolution in mind as a strong supporter of Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace
started an expedition on his own in 1848 through the Amazon and South East Asia region. He wanted to demonstrate
that evolution took place by showing how geography influenced the current distribution of species. He studied hundreds
of thousands of animals and plants, meticulously recording the exact localities where he had observed them. In one of
his journeys, he found a pattern that corroborated the evidences of evolution: physical barriers (i.e., rivers or mountain
ranges) served as a demarcation of many species’ distributional range. A more conventional explanation that species
had been shaped with adaptations to the specific climate made no sense because he could find very diverse animals in
similar climatic regions.

Mendel’s Key to the Missing Link

While all this was going on, an Austrian monk named Gregor Mendel (1822-1884) was carrying out imperative
experiments that would finally prove Darwin’s concept of natural selection. For seven years, Mendel crossbred different
strains of pea plants. He did this experiment to investigate how characteristics like the pod shape, seed shape, or flower
colors are inherited. In a quite remarkable feat, he was able to cultivate almost thirty thousand pea plants and in doing
so figured out the basic foundation or genetics. He presented that an offspring can receive characteristics from both its
parents, but the dominant trait is the one expressed. Unfortunately, Mendel’s work was ignored by scientist in Britain
and only 1900 when Mendel’s work on genetics was finally “re-discovered.” His experiment becomes a plausible proof
to support the natural selection idea of Darwin. Using Mendel’s work on genetics, a couple of studies showed how
genetic traits in an animal or plant population could be selected by environmental pressures and how these populations
easily become adapted to its environment.

Lamarck, Darwin, Wallace, and Mendel are the key proponents and developers of the concept of evolution that
we know today. However, several others had involvement in this concept as well.
ACTIVITY:
Complete the table below to summarize the history of the theory of evolution from pre-1800s to present. The
timeline is already provided; write only one key concept involved on each box. You may utilize other reference for this
activity.

Pre-1800s Evolutionary thought of:

Andreas Vesalius on comparative anatomy

Nicholas Steno on Paleontology

Carolus Linnaeus on nomenclature and classification

Period: 1800s-1900
Thomas Maltus on human population

Georges Cuvier on Extinction

Jean Baptiste Lamarck on evolution

Karl Ernst von Baer

Charles Lyell on uniformitarianism

Gregor Mendel on Genetics

Charles Darwin on Natural selection

Ernst Haeckel on Embryology

Wallace and Wegener on Biogeography

Thomas Morgan on modern genetics

1920-1940 population genetics and modern evolutionary

synthesis

Ernst Mayr on Speciation

Francis Crick and James Watson on DNA structure

1970-2000: Evolutionary paths, horizontal gene transfer,

endosymbiosis, and developmental biology

21st Century: Macro-, micro-evolution and Epigenetic

inheritance