Activity 2: Lamarck’s Theories

Name: Justine Mae E. Agravante Section: 10 – Diamond Date: 06/08/21

NOTE: Do not change the format of this activity.

Read the statement below. Then answer the questions that follow.

1. Theory of Need – According to Lamarck, organisms evolved because they have to. In addition, he
believed that organisms change over generations in response to the changes in their environment. The
traits that organisms manifest are products of their altered behavior. An example is the capability of birds
to fly because their ancestors had the urge and tried to fly.
a. Give another example of an organism that may possibly support the theory of need. Explain your choice
of examples.
Snakes are venomous creatures and can be an example of organism that support the theory of
need. These organisms have wizard-like reptiles as their ancestors. The wizard-like reptiles had limbs.
But, due to their need to stretch their body to suit their creeping mode of locomotion, and the
continuous disuse of limbs, we have limbless snakes now.

b. Do you agree or disagree with Lamarck’s Theory of need? Support your answer.
I agree. Lamarck’s Theory of Need states that organisms change their behaviors or behaviors to
respond to changes in environment. Since ancestral snakes liked to eat soft-bodied animals and
invertebrate preys, they used to stretch their body and crawl to get food. According to research,
ancestral snakes used to live on land but due to food demands, they evolved and were able to survive
even on water. I agree with the theory of need because the changes in their behaviors were caused
by the changes in environment, which naturally happens. Organisms like snakes managed to adapt to
these new environments by altering their behaviors. Ancestral snakes lived longer and were able to
produce limbless snakes because they succeeded in adapting to a changing environment.

2. Theory of use and disuse – According to Lamarck, organisms can reshape or alter their traits depending
on the importance of those traits to the organisms. An organism can develop a trait that is useful to it and
can lose that trait if it does not use the trait often. For example, a deer that runs very fast may develop
strong muscles for running. Another example, which Lamarck is well known for, is the long necks of the
giraffes.
a. Explain why giraffes have long neck based on the theory of use and disuse.
Giraffes have a long neck because of their ancestor's environment. Their forefathers were
quadrupedal deer-like creatures who lived in Africa's grasslands. However, these grasses vanished and
were replaced by tall trees. They'll need a new habit to match their food demands. Since short-necked
giraffes can’t reach the leaves on the upper branches, they must stretch their necks and limbs to obtain
food. As a result, the once short-necked and small-fore limbed deer-like ancestors evolved into giraffes
with long necks and long fore limbs.

b. Do you agree or disagree with Lamarck’s theory of use and disuse? Support your answer.
I agree. This theory of disuse has also something to do with organisms adapting to the changing
environment. This theory states that organisms develop body parts or traits that are useful to
environment and can lose traits that are not use often. I agree with this theory because vertebrate
animals have the same evolutionary origin. But some developed their legs to walk or crawl, and some
managed to develop wings to help them fly. Thus, environment has a great influence in the evolution
of species.

3. Theory of Acquired Trait – According to Lamarck, the acquired traits of an organism that were influenced
by the environment can be passed on to its offspring. Thus, evolution occurs (also known as inheritance
of acquired traits). For example, if a giraffe was successful in acquiring the trait of having a long neck,
then the trait would be passed on to its offspring.
a. Give another example of an organism that can possibly support the theory of acquired traits. Describe
why this organism supports the theory.
Horses. Their ancestors lived in locations with soft ground. They were short-legged, and had a
larger number of functional fingers. These creatures eventually adapted to living in locations with dry
ground. This shift in behavior was followed by an increase in leg length and a decrease in the number
of functional fingers needed for fast running on hard ground.

b. Do you agree or disagree with Lamarck’s theory of acquired traits? Support your answer.
I agree. In this theory, Lamarck believes that characteristics developed from the changing
environment can be inherited and be transmitted to the offspring. These off springs are then ready to
face the changed in environment that their parents experienced, making their survival rate increase. I
agree in this third theory because one factor that can lead to evolution is mutation. Mutations can be
 passed to the offspring and occur in the DNA sequence. The inversion, substitution, and translocation
of alleles causes mutation, which alters the organism’s behavior and trait.

c. What factor(s) did you consider in agreeing or disagreeing with Lamarck’s theory?
I based my answers on previous researches and evidences found on the internet. The possibilities
and scientific explanations presented were great materials that anyone can use to make a conclusion.
There are also some information found on the book so I considered them as well.