Name:____________________ Date:___________

L3: Charles Darwin

Note Taking Guide
Essential Question
• How do we explain diversity on Earth?
Darwin’s Observations
• He notices how ________________ organism were for their local environments.
• He noticed the ______________________ they obtained food, protected themselves,
reproduced, and the different areas they lived.
• He noticed three patterns of diversity:
• Species vary _____________
• Species vary ____________
• Species vary ___________
Species Vary Globally
• Darwin noticed that different, yet ecologically similar species inhabited separated, but
ecologically similar, habitats around the world.
Species Vary Locally
• Darwin noticed that different, yet related, species often occupied different habitats
within a local area.
Species Vary Over Time
• Darwin noted that the ______________ included many extinct animals that were similar
to, yet different from, living species.
Darwin’s observations
• He noticed animals and plants were _________________ to the species on the South
American continent.
• This resulted in a ______________ that at some point individuals from the mainland
migrated to the islands.
• He observed slightly ___________________ on each island.
• He hypothesized that __________________ on different islands resulting in different
traits becoming well established
Darwin’s Finches on the Galapagos Islands
• The finches had distinct looking beaks, different habits, diets, and behaviors that
_______________ after generations of adaptation to specific island habitats.
• They still had _________________ to each other and the mainland finches.
• This is because they all have a _________________ from the South American mainland.
Decent with Modification
• Descent with modification is the idea that species ______________, give rise to new
species, and share a common ancestor.
• There are three basic concepts that are helpful in clarifying how descent with
modification works:
• _____________________

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 Name:____________________ Date:___________

• ____________________
• ____________________ of the population (or species as a whole)
• Note: individuals do not evolve.
The Theory of Natural Selection
• Natural selection on the other hand is the tendency for organisms with certain
_____________________ to be more likely to survive and reproduce in certain
environments.
• The bird can see the tan mice, so they are eaten. The black mice
_____________________ and __________________.

Now try and answer the Essential Question with you knew knowledge!
• How do we explain diversity on Earth?
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