Natural Selection Paragraph Essay

The fossil record can show evidence for evolution, by relative dating, and radioactive dating we can find evidence for evolution. Relative dating is the process of finding out the age of a fossil by comparing it to other fossils/rocks. This process helps us determine how old certain specific fossils are by comparing them to other fossils; comparing older ancestor fossils helps us see the physical evolutionary change as time goes on, index fossils are used to determine the age of the fossil. Radioactive dating is another way we can see evolutionary change, this process involves obtaining the fossil and burning a small piece of the fossil, and obtaining/collecting all of the heat/radiation that is emitted from that fossil which is collected by a radiation counter; then the carbon 14 or carbon 12 that is left in fossil will be used; this then helps determine the half life of the fossil, which eventually helps us find out how old the fossil really is. Both these different methods that scientists use to determine fossil age shows us/helps us compare and find the age out our ancestors. Shows us how old the fossils are, helps us compare fossil records and see the change that is present/occurs throughout time. Comparative anatomy is another example of evolution, homologous structures, and analogous structures are both examples of evolution. A homologous structure is any structure that is similar in any way, but has a different overall function. Analogous structure are structures

While he was on the voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, a man named Charles Darwin viewed the relationship of plants and animals all over the world. He observed organisms on islands off the coast of South America and those on the mainland. His observations showed that these organisms were related, but not identical. This led Darwin into believing that over time, organisms must adapt to suit their environment. He explained his theories thoroughly in his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

The documentary, “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea” tells the story of Charles Darwin’s conception of his theory of natural selection, and how it explains the evolutionary process and species adaptation. The story begins with a brief overview of his 5-year stint on the HMS Beagle as the ship's naturalist, during her South American voyage. The film shows how Mr. Darwin collected fossils and many species of animals and birds from many different regions especially the Galapagos Islands. It portrays Mr. Darwin’s return to England and his struggle between the mainstream religious beliefs and his personal beliefs of how different species came to be. Additionally, the documentary covers his presentation of fossils and ideas to the scientific community,

Without evolution, and the constant ever changing environment, the complexity of living organisms would not be as it is. Evolution is defined as a process that results in heritable changes in a population spread over many generations (8).Scientists believe in the theory of evolution. This belief is based on scientific evidence that corroborates the theory of evolution. In Figure 1 the pictures of the skulls depict the sequence of the evolution of Homo-sapiens. As the figure shows, man has evolved from our common ancestor that is shared by homo-sapiens. The change of diet of homo-sapiens over time has thought to contribute to the change in jaw structure and overall skull shape.

Those changes of the species lead Darwin to think that the long necked tortoise is the same branch from the low short necked, smooth shell tortoise because of the location of the island and the food they eat. Having Darwin think of this beginning of the evolution theory has caused Darwin to reach the conclusion that all tortoise are the same, except some tortoise would fail to survive in one area due to population or the amount of food available. This would cause the tortoise to move to a different location/environment. Doing this so, means the tortoise would evolve slowly over a long period of time into the tortoise growing a longer neck to reach the foods in the area, or developing a stronger shell for the moist part of the islands. Having this observation and conclusion, Darwin Galileo and Darwin used the tools they had on hand to find evidence to support each of their theories, while scientists today have advanced technology.

What is natural selection? Natural selection whether or not people ever think about it, is what has brought everyone to where they are today. There are three main types of natural selection as read in the article (Natural Selection) at Berkley. With these types come particulate heredity along with variation of traits, and differential in reproduction. Because of these, people are very reliant upon nature. Therefore people do not only have a spiritual, but physical relationship with nature.

After some study of the Galapagos Islands Darwin noticed a variety of finches that differed in beak sizes. In all appearances it would seem that the finches colonized the islands from the mainland in South America and then over time, diverged in form. Likewise Darwin also found through hard work and word of the locals that each island had its own particular tortoise. It wasn’t until sometime later that Darwin realized that these creatures weren’t imported by man. After further research Darwin ended up theorizing that because of the changes in climate and environment the finches and tortoises would have had to adapt to survive in their new home.

Darwin found fossils that did not look very similar to today’s species. He concluded that some organisms have not remained the same since the beginning of time. Darwin determined that they have changed significantly, gradually becoming more and more complex, over time, given the evidence. Due to the natural selection of inherited variations of traits, organisms have made drastic changes. By inheriting and changing traits, new organisms are

The Galapagos islands were what helped Darwin make a groundbreaking discovery. As he explored the islands, he noticed that there were many finches. Yet, there was something peculiar going on. The finches had different beaks, and ate different things. Darwin suspected that the finches were all from the same lineage, and the theory of evolution helps prove that. When it was first presented, it received a lot of criticism, with mockeries being made of Charles(One of which is exemplified by artistic representations of his head on a monkey’s body). As time went on, though, the public eventually warmed up to

Darwin realized that the animals living on different islands were once members of the same species. These separate species would have evolved from an original South American ancestor species.

In 1831, Charles Darwin thought he had “wasted” (his word) his college education. The 22-year-old was thus sent off by his father on a five-year journey that would change our understanding of our place in the nonhuman world. After five weeks on the Galápagos Islands, far out in the middle of the Pacific off the coast of Ecuador, Darwin’s observations and drawings of finches and tortoises led him to formulate the idea of natural selection, the centerpiece of his version of evolution. As he walked the sandy shorelines of these craggy volcanoes, he suddenly realized that the birds around him had variable beaks because natural selection had selected certain beaks as more useful than others: some for gathering seeds, others for crushing nuts, a

The first and quite possibly the best evidence for evolution is Homology. Homology is when species share similarities that are signs of common ancestry such as homologous structures. Homologous structures are ones that derive from a common ancestral structure (“Evidence of Evolution…”). These can prove to be very solid reasoning when arguing

While on the Galápagos Islands, Darwin kept notebooks about all the species there, and he noticed the variety of tortoises on the island who were essential in explaining his theory of evolution. There are several species of tortoise present on the Galápagos Islands that are all very closely related, but slightly different. There are eleven presently surviving subspecies of Galápagos tortoises; furthermore, six of the eleven are found on different islands in the archipelago, and the other five are all found on a single island on five separate volcanoes with their own mini-ecosystems (PNAS). Although all of the species of Galápagos tortoise is different, they each have small differences that can include maximum adult size, shell shape, and the length of the neck and limbs. The tortoises of the islands are most closely related to the Chaco tortoises along the western coast of South America, and they most likely came to the Galápagos by “rafting” across the water (PNAS). Similar to the tortoises, Darwin observed that the Finches on the islands also had changed to match the environment. Spread among the islands were fourteen subspecies of finch whose

In 1835, the Beagle sailed from Lima, Peru the the Galapagos, a group of islands of the coast of South America, this is where he truly made the major observations that proved the theory of evolution. The name, Galapagos, stems from the Spanish word for giant tortoises, which was one of the many species Darwin studied there. He noticed that the same species of animals differed between the island. ("The Voyage of HMS Beagle.") Each island

There is no debate that the world's first power of surviving relies on evolution, to a point where one does not have to look outside the box to witness it ... they're sitting on it. Many have mistaken the term "Evolution" with a state of randomness, an improvement or even a biogenesis. Others have related it to the origins of the universe, a social Darwinism that resulted in a massive diversity regarding theory and ideology. While people choose to rest their bodies on a chair in attempt to find an answer to its definition, some have rested their minds and accepted the fact that it only means change over time. It's no question that life on earth is related through common descent and has been changing for a long time, yet the real conflict