Essay about Darwin’s Four Main Principles

“These birds look similar to each other in plumage and song, yet closer observation reveals that they all differ from one another in how their beaks look and work” (Abzhanov, A., 2010). Darwin believed that if given enough time, a species would adapt to its environment, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change” (Darwin, C., 1859). Charles Darwin recognized that natural selection was the primary factor for evolution, not limited to only birds and plants, but to humans as well.

Evolution is the process of biological change by which descendants come to differ from their ancestors. Natural Selection is when an individual with the best trait survive and breed in more population. Larger populations of organisms with the desired traits will then occur and organisms will evolve. The four principles of Natural Selection are variation, over production, adaptation, and descent with modification. Charles Darwin, an English naturalist and geologist saw two major trends within organisms which were variation and adaptation. Variations are differences in individuals’ physical traits compared to other individuals. In the Galapagos Islands Darwin noticed that finches had different beak sizes and shapes. Darwin then concluded that finches with thicker beaks lived in areas where nuts were the main food source and finches with smaller beaks tended to live in areas where insects were the main food source. Adaptation are features that allow an organism to better survive in their environment. There has been many adaptations in animals but one of the best has been living in groups because animals can then “help each other find food, defend against predators and care for their young” (animalpanet, n.d.). Overproduction is when organisms produce more offspring than the environment can support. Darwin stated that all animals over produce since offspring can reach reproduction age and have offspring of their own. For example, “even a slow breeder

Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the commonly thought notion that all life is linked and has descended from a common ancestor. Darwin's general theory assumes the development of life from nonlife and stresses a purely naturalistic "descent with modification". That is, complex creatures evolve from more simplistic ancestors naturally over time. “Natural selection is a process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits” (Campbell, 2014). How Darwin came about to these findings was by exploring the Galapagos Islands. It took years of research for him to come up with conclusions. He focused on

Darwin wanted to further his studies in plant and animal life, and he also became interested in the similarities of plant and animal species to those of the human species. He noticed that humans too also had to develop new characteristics that would help them adapt to their environments. This made him want to look further into where humans came from and also question the idea of creationism. He argued that men are animals because they have to adapt to their surroundings just as animals do. He suggested that the stronger animals have a better survival chance and they produce offspring that carry this trait. A whole new population of species can derive from these offspring and traits that have evolved from older generations and species. This became known as Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.

Darwin made a grand impact on the world by introducing many people into evolution and disproved the principles of Creationism with his theories on natural selection and evolution (Darwinism). His contributions to science field in biology and geology changed how the world sees' life’s history as not instantaneous rather a slow ongoing process.

In 1837, Charles Darwin was traveling aboard the H.M.S. Beagle in the Eastern Pacific when he stopped on the Galapagos Islands. There, Darwin found a wide array of animals including the Galápagos finches. The differences that he uncovered between these animals sparked Darwin’s interest; he had never before seen nor attempted to understand the similarities and differences inherent within these species. Examining each and uncovering the probable reasons for their distinctions, namely their differing needs for adaptation, Darwin constructed his theory of natural selection. From his observations on the Galapagos Islands, Darwin continued developing his research into eventually what became known as the Origin of Species, published in 1858. In this book, he asserted that these animals and differing species did not just appeared out of thin air, but rather had evolved from other species through the process of natural selection. Yet, his scientific findings were not accepted by the general public when first published, nor long after. Instead, they sparked a great uproar and criticism, since for most people accepted the theory of the Creation, the belief of divine creation, as the way people and species appeared on earth. His findings, so contrary to the then accepted norm of creation, were met with hostility and resentment by many who considered his work

Charles Darwin, a naturalist around the 1800’s , discovered the theory of evolution. He discovered this observation of evolution with his voyages around the world. The specific animals that proved Darwin 's theory were the finches he discovered in South America, and then found many variations at many different places. He studies these finches in depth and discovered that they were similar yet somehow different; the first indicator being their beaks. Darwin slowly understood that the reason as to why there were different formation of beaks for the fiches was because of the environment and the food source they found there. This is how the “Tree of

In the example of Figure 2, the finches that have the medium sized beak depths may be naturally selected because their beaks are small enough to eat crumbs from the ground, but big enough to eat insects(Just a Example). Over time, as more and more offsprings get this advantageous trait, they will all reproduce again aswell exponentially increasing the amount of individuals with the advantageous trait. Soon, most will have the medium size beak depth, and ultimately that is a change among the population, or evolution. The second way a species may evolutionize is through the competition of limited resources. Competition is often caused by the overpopulation of a species, where there are too many individuals and not as much foods. In these situations, some will have a better chance of beating the competition than others. Figure 3 helps us better understand this idea by showing how some Finches died during a drought. A drought causes a lack of water, forcing the finches to fight amongst themselves to see who will get this water. The winners are decided by who has the advantageous

Although some may argue that humans do dominate the earth because we use up a large percentage of the earth’s resources, Darwin has shown through his studies that evolution is possible because each species survives by adapting to the resources available to them. For instance, when Darwin researched finches on the Galapagos Islands, he noted that some finches had different size beaks. Darwin’s observations on this idea led to the development of his theory of evolution by noting that the finches with smaller beaks developed these beaks over time in order to crack open the smaller nuts that the bigger finches could not crack open. Therefore, by evolving, the species of smaller finches was able to adapt to its environment and pass on genes that allowed for the viability of the

Charles Darwin did not occur with the Theory of Evolution on this trip. As a matter of fact, his grandfather Erasmus Darwin had already inject the thought that species evolve through time in Charles. However, the Galapagos finches guidance Darwin strengthen his idea of natural selection. The favorable adjustment of Darwin's Finches' beaks were chosen for over generations until they all split out to make new species.

Darwin was, unequivocally, Galton’s most notable relative and someone from whom he drew large inspiration. Darwin became influenced by economist Thomas Malthus, who recognized, “that life is a constant “struggle for existence” and only those best suited for survival will do so” (Goodwin, 2012, p. 135). Malthus’ aforementioned belief was one that Darwin observed during his expedition on the Beagle--Darwin’s ship. Darwin recognizes that the finches he had studied during his voyage to the Galapagos islands varied from each other depending on island location and available food sources; he also notes that these variations assist the finches in survival (i.e. different beak shape to forage a specific food, stronger beaks) (p. 136). The concept that grew from Darwin’s initial findings was the concept of natural selection. Natural selection is defined as the natural process in

Everybody connects Darwin with the theory that all organisms are descended from a common ancestor, and many know that he was by no means the first to say so.

Darwin believed all plants and animals had changed from past families by natural selection. An example of natural selection would be the different coloration between beetles (Understanding Evolution, 2008). There are two different colored beetles, one is brown and the other is green. Since the environment cannot have an overpopulation, the green beetles will get consumed by birds and not be able to survive and reproduce as much as the brown beetles. The brown beetles have offspring because the trait has a genetic basis. When they produce more offspring, they become more common in the environment and if this process continues, the population of beetles will be mostly brown. Certain characteristics are innate within a species which help them reproduce and survive more than other species with no such inborn characteristics. These species will become more favorable and most common in the population. Darwin’s theory of natural selection favors organisms that are prone to adapting well to the environment, it makes it easy to pass on their genes stabilizing the population and making it stronger. Species begin to die out according to, what Darwin calls, survival of the fittest.

Many scientists believe variations are caused by environmental factors, such as food availability, weather and more; and that species evolve when environmental conditions change to increase the species survival. Darwin censures this idea; he believed that the main cause of variation is due to reproduction (Chapter I). Darwin suggested that parents pass down specific characteristics to their offspring, and those variations are continued on in the following generations. The problem with Darwin’s theory of reproduction is that Darwin did not comprehend how or why some characteristics are perennial and how others are not. Darwin’s inferences on variations also conflict with the idea that God created species independently, which was widely understood by many people in a time where religion was prominent (Chapter II).

Darwin’s theory of evolution is the most commonly accepted theory because of the strong evidence that the theory is built on. One of the most famous examples of Darwin’s theory is the Galapagos finches. Darwin observed different finches from different islands of the Galapagos. He found that the finches from all the different islands had differently evolved beaks. Darwin