evolution
Jean baptiste LAMARCK
presented one of the first theories of evolution in 1809. was convinced that species were not constant. THOUGHT THAT CHANGES IN ANIMALS WERE CAUSED BY THEIR NEED TO CHANGE TO ADAPT TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT
lamarcks first principle: law of use and disuse
the more an animal uses a specific part of its body, the stronger and better developped that part becomes , and vise versa
lamarcks second principle: inheritance of aquired characteristics
characteristics that an organism acquires through use and disuse will be passed on to its offspring
charles darwin
went on a voyage on the HMS Beagle in 1831 for 5 years. returned convinced that organisms evolved. finches in the galapagos islands
thomas malthus
propsed that human food supply could not keep up with the growing population, lesding to deatg by disease and starvation
alfred russel wallace
sent darwin his essay about evolution with very similar conclusions to his own. darwin published his own book later that year
4 points of darwins natural selection theory
variation, heritability, overproduction, reproductive advantage
variation
individuals in a population differ from one another
heritability
variations are inherited from parents
overproduction
populations produce more offspring that can survive
reproductive advantage
some variations allow the organism that possesses them to have more offspring than the organism that does not possess them