10.

3 Darwin Presents His Case

Write all things in red, sequentially in your notebook

EQ: What are the main big ideas of the Theory of Evolution?

Artificial Selection
• Darwin recognized that members of the same species vary from one another.
• Though no one yet knew about genetics, Darwin realized that some variation is passed from parents to
offspring and sometimes the variations are good.
• Farmers use this heritable variation to improve crops and livestock
• Darwin named this practice Artificial Selection
• Darwin proposed that Nature provided the variation and humans select those traits found to be most
useful/profitable

WATCH THIS - How Does Evolution Really Work?

Developing the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

• It took Darwin over two decades to finally publish his ideas because he feared ridicule and becoming an
outcast.
• He wanted as much evidence as possible to support his ideas before making them public
• In 1858, Darwin read an essay by Alfred Russel Wallace, an English naturalist working in Malaysia who was
about ready to publish a near-identical theory… so he decided to get his research/theory out there
• 1859: Darwin published his first complete work, On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection
The 4 Main Principles of Evolution by Natural Selection

1. Overproduction of Offspring
• More individuals are produced than will survive
• For example, insects lay 1000’s of eggs at a time
• This leads to COMPETITION
o Competition for limited resources results in differential survival.

2. Genetic Variation leads to ADAPTATIONS

• Darwin hypothesized that some mutations/variations (faster, stronger, smarter, better camouflage,
ability to fly, gills, etc.) allow for better survival in a particular environment than others.
• Mutations are changes in the DNA. A single mutation can have a large effect, but in many cases,
evolutionary change is based on the accumulation of MANY mutations in a population over time.
• Adaptation: Any inherited characteristic that increases an organism’s ability to survive and pass on its
genes
• Sex can introduce new gene combinations into a population. This genetic shuffling (during MEIOSIS) is
another important source of genetic variation
• People often assume that humans are the most evolutionarily superior, but as far as evolution goes,
EVERY species is perfectly adapted to its current environment… until it changes.
o If environment changes or individuals move to new environment, new adaptations and new
species may arise.
3. Survival of the “Fittest”
• Different adaptations allow the best adapted to survive and pass on their genes
• FITNESS: Individuals with more favorable phenotypes are more likely to survive and produce more
offspring, and pass those traits to future generations
o High Fitness: individuals have adaptations that are well-suited to their environment; the best
adapted
o Low Fitness: individuals with characteristics that are not well-suited to the environment and
thus will likely die without passing on their genes

• Darwin named the mechanism for evolution Natural Selection

• Natural Selection: when nature “selects” those individuals (best adapted to a particular environment)
to survive and reproduce.
• Over generations, new mutations allow populations to become better adapted to their existing
environment… until it changes.
o Populations evolve, not individuals.

4. Common Descent
• Based on fossil evidence, Darwin proposed that, over MANY generations, adaptations could result in new
species
• This implies that life has been on this planet for a VERY long time
• Darwin’s evolutionary tree implied that all organisms are related
• He also proposed that ALL living and extinct species descended, with modifications, from common
ancestors; this is called Descent with Modification
 http://visual.ly/great-tree-life

1. Answer the EQ and update your notebook

2. Complete the following new vocabulary terms: (11) Variation, (12) Artificial
Selection, (13) Competition, (14) Adaptation, (15) Fitness, (16) Natural Selection,
(17) Descent with Modification