Darwin and natural selection

While Darwin knew nothing about the mechanism of inheritance, he was very aware of many other aspects of living
organisms. Among these, three are particularly emphasized in his theory:
 The species that inhabit the Earth today are not the same species that existed in the past, although they do
resemble them. This aspect of evolution was very apparent to Darwin from the fossil record.
 Each species possesses a number of characters that adapt individuals within that species to their way of life
and their particular environment. Much of The Origin of Species is devoted to detailed descriptions of the
adaptations of individual species, for example the various beak shapes of finches on the Galapagos Islands.
 Selective breeding of domestic species can produce characters in a diversity of forms. For example, dog
breeders have produced numerous breeds that differ in characters such as ear length, stature and
behaviour: different breeds have different forms of a character.
Darwin's theory of natural selection can be expressed as four propositions. These propositions are so important to an
understanding of evolution through natural selection that you should try to remember them, although not necessarily word-
for-word.

Darwin's four propositions

 Within a given species, more individuals are produced by reproduction than can survive within the
constraints (e.g. food supply) imposed by the species' environment.
 Consequently, there is a struggle for existence, because of the disparity between the number of
individuals produced by reproduction and the number that can survive.
 Individuals within a species show variation; no two individuals are exactly alike (not even those we call
'identical' twins). Those with advantageous characters have a greater probability of survival, and therefore of
reproducing, in the struggle for existence.
 Individuals produce offspring that tend to resemble their parents (the principle of inheritance). Provided that
the advantageous characters that promote survival are inherited by offspring, individuals possessing those
characters will become more common in the population over successive generations because they are more
likely than individuals not possessing those characters to survive and produce offspring in the next
generation.
The essence of Darwin's theory is that natural selection will occur if three conditions are met. These conditions,
highlighted in bold above, are a struggle for existence, variation and inheritance. These are said to be the  necessary and
sufficient conditions for natural selection to occur. To say that the three conditions are necessary means that, unless all
three conditions are met, natural selection will not occur. Thus, it will not occur if reproduction does not produce more
progeny than can survive, it will not occur if a character does not show variation, and it will not occur if variation does not
have a heritable basis. To say that the three conditions are sufficient means that, if all three conditions are met, natural
selection will inevitably occur and this can lead to change in the characters of a population from one generation to the
next.
Darwin was concerned with evolution, i.e. change over time, and he proposed a process, natural selection, that could
bring about such change. Evolution through natural selection is our main focus here. However, it is important to bear in
mind that natural selection is also a process that can prevent change, i.e. promote stability. In other words, natural
selection can occur without evolution. Furthermore, there are factors other than natural selection that affect evolution
(some of which are considered in Section 3). The three conditions listed above are necessary and sufficient for natural
selection to occur, rather than for evolution to occur. Nevertheless, the vast majority of biologists accept that natural
selection is the most important process by which evolution is brought about.
Let us look a little more closely at the three necessary and sufficient conditions and consider how likely it is that they will
be met. The first, a struggle for existence, is probably almost always met, because living organisms produce more
progeny than are required to replace their parents when they die. The second condition, variation, is often but not always
met. Some characters show virtually no variation between members of a species, whilst other characters show
considerable variation. The third condition, inheritance, is only sometimes met; not all variation has a heritable basis. For
example, toads vary in size. The two factors which make the largest contribution to variation in the body size of toads are
variation in age (toads continue to grow throughout their lives) and variation in their environment (e.g. a good food
supply). These are both external causes (i.e. body size is not a result of particular characters possessed by the toad). So
body size in toads is not primarily an inherited character.
This last point brings us to an important aspect of natural selection, which was much discussed when Darwin first
proposed his theory. This debate concerns the possible inheritance of acquired characters. As well as growing, individual
organisms may develop particular skills or physical characters during the course of their lives as a result of differences in
the way they live. Consider the human practices of ear-piercing, circumcision and decorative body scars. These
characters, which are acquired deliberately during the course of an individual's life, are not inherited by that individual's
offspring even though the practice may have been carried out for hundreds of generations. Likewise, a plant that has
grown particularly large in a patch of good ground, or a toad that has grown very big because it lives in a garden full of
food, will not pass their large size on to their progeny. So, inheritance of acquired characters does not occur.
Inheritance of a character occurs only if that character is passed from one generation to the next during reproduction. In
other words, it is reproduction that is the crucial factor in natural selection. In a nutshell, natural selection is about the
reproduction - rather than survival - of the fittest. (The term 'fitness' has a very particular meaning in biology.
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What's that big red pouch?
The Frigate bird of the Galápagos Islands. This bird can be found throughout the tropical Atlantic down to the Galápagos
Islands and Ecuador, but not in Europe or South America, so Darwin may never have come across one until he landed on
the Galápagos. Such a unique creature was bound to make a naturalist such as Darwin wonder why. Why do they look
the way they do? What's that big red pouch? What are the advantages?

Darwin’s Theory

The Englishman Charles Darwin is one of the most famous scientists who ever lived. His place in the history of science is
well deserved. Darwin’s theory of evolution represents a giant leap in human understanding. It explains and unifies all
of biology.
Darwin’s theory of evolution actually contains two major ideas:
1. One idea is that evolution occurs. In other words, organisms change over time. Life on Earth has changed as
descendants diverged from common ancestors in the past.
2. The other idea is that evolution occurs by natural selection. Natural selection is the process that results in living
things with beneficial traits producing more offspring than others. This results in changes in the traits of living
things over time.
In Darwin’s day, most people believed that all species were created at the same time and remained unchanged thereafter.
They also believed that Earth was only about 6,000 years old. Therefore, Darwin’s ideas revolutionized biology. How did
Darwin come up with these important ideas? It all started when he went on a voyage.
The Voyage of the  Beagle
In 1831, when Darwin was just 22 years old, he set sail on a scientific expedition on a ship called the HMS Beagle. He was
the naturalist on the voyage. As a naturalist, it was his job to observe and collect specimens of plants,  animals, rocks,
and fossils wherever the expedition went ashore. The route the ship took and the stops they made are shown in
the Figure below. 

[Figure 2]
Voyage of the Beagle. This map shows the route of Darwin’s 5-year voyage on the HMS Beagle. Each stop along the way is labeled.
Darwin and the others on board eventually circled the globe.
Darwin was fascinated by nature, so he loved his job on the Beagle. He spent more than 3 years of the 5-year trip
exploring nature on distant continents and islands. While he was away, a former teacher published Darwin’s accounts of
his observations. By the time Darwin finally returned to England, he had become famous as a naturalist.
Darwin’s Observations
During the long voyage, Darwin made many observations that helped him form his theory of evolution. For example:
 He visited tropical rainforests and other new habitats where he saw many plants and animals he had never
seen before. This impressed him with the great diversity of life.
 He experienced an earthquake that lifted the ocean floor 2.7 meters (9 feet) above sea level. He also found
rocks containing fossil sea shells in mountains high above sea level. These observations suggested that
continents and oceans had changed dramatically over time and continue to change in dramatic ways.
  He visited rock ledges that had clearly once been beaches that had gradually built up over time. This
suggested that slow, steady processes also change Earth’s surface.
 He dug up fossils of gigantic extinct mammals, such as the ground sloth. This was hard evidence that
organisms looked very different in the past. It suggested that living things—like Earth’s surface—change over
time.
 
 
The Galápagos Islands
Darwin’s most important observations were made on the Galápagos Islands. This is a group of 16 small volcanic islands
966 kilometers (600 miles) off the west coast of Ecuador, South America. Individual Galápagos islands differ from one
another in important ways. Some are rocky and dry. Others have better soil and more rainfall. Darwin noticed that the
plants and animals on the different islands also differed. For example, the giant tortoises on one island had saddle-shaped
shells, while those on another island had dome-shaped shells. People who lived on the islands could even tell the island a
turtle came from by its shell. This started Darwin thinking about the origin of species. He wondered how each island came
to have its own type of tortoise.

[Figure 3]
 
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[Figure 4]
Galápagos Tortoises. Galápagos tortoises have differently shaped shells depending on which island they inhabit. Tortoises with
saddle-shaped shells can reach up to eat plant leaves above their head. Tortoises with dome-shaped shells cannot reach up in this
way. These two types of tortoises live on islands with different environments and food sources. How might this explain the
differences in their shells?

DID YOU KNOW?

Due to their remote location, the Galápagos Islands have many unique animals found nowhere else in the world.
These animals evolved over millions of years without the fear of natural predators or human activity. However,
since their discovery in the 1500s, the impact of human activity on these islands has increased, threatening its fragile ecosystem.

The Farallon Islands – "California's Galápagos"

One of the most productive marine food webs on the planet is located on the Farallon Islands, just 28 miles off the San
Francisco, California coast. These islands also host the largest seabird breeding colony in the continental United States,
with over 300,000 breeding seabirds. The islands are known as the Galápagos of California. Why? 
 
 
 
 

Summary

 Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection states that living things with beneficial traits produce more
offspring than others do. This produces changes in the traits of living things over time.
 During his voyage on the Beagle, Darwin made many observations that helped him develop his theory of
evolution.
 Darwin's most important observations were made on the Galápagos Islands.