The Finches From The Galapagos Island

When travelling from island to island on the Beagle Voyage, Darwin collected finches from each island he visited. When he got back, he examined the birds realizing there were small but noticeable differences on the birds. This meant that there were different types of finches on each of the island, also meaning that there is more than one species of finch. Because each island had slightly different settings, each bird that had lived there adapted over time to better equip themselves for living on that particular island. The changes in the finches were subtle, just like how the islands were only slightly different. Different species of finches were born of the original ancestor and as more time passed and they grew more different. They grew different in terms of things like their beaks and their feathers. This example led Darwin to his idea of evolution because he saw that clearly there was no other explanation for his findings. This also proved his theory of natural selection because the original finch’s traits were weaned out and those original finches evolved into species that could survive the best in the climates of the different islands. Because he now believed that the finches had one common ancestor, he came to the conclusion that all life forms on earth have one common

After presenting his collection of fossils to the scientific community, Charles Darwin starts to ponder what really causes the varieties in species that he had personally witnessed, and why some species go extinct. This is the point where he begins to form the basic theory of natural selection, that the species with specific traits that allow them to survive best and reproduce effectively in their given environment are what has caused the different adaptations over long periods of time. Moreover, while speaking to his cousin Emma, whom he later marries, he uses the example of dog breeding to exemplify this point, dogs are bred together in order to enhance and continue specific physical characteristics. For

The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner explores evolution through the most famous examples in history—the finches of the Galápagos Islands. Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and the process of evolution are applied directly to what scientists refer to as Darwin’s Finches. Weiner follows scientists Peter and Rosemary Grant as they study the finches in real time on the Galápagos. Years of previous work, study and data is collected and analyzed. Different species of animals are observed and explained throughout history. The Grants have one goal, and that is to find the origin of the species, how organisms first began. They find that it really is about the “survival of the

The Evolution Lab simulates environmental situations to determine effects on evolution over periods of time. This lab experiments with the evolution of finches on two different islands over 100, 200, and 300 years. By manipulating parameters that influence natural selection, the effects that natural selection have on the evolution process can be studied.

In the first chapter, Coyne discusses the basic concept outline of evolution, and brings clarity to the common misconceptions thought and said about how the science works, and the large misuse of the word theory. The first chapter of this book also defines very carefully each of the main hypothesis of evolutionary theory. Which stands in dissimilarity to many other treatments of evolution, which all have a propensity to confuse some readers by integrating different meanings of the word. Coyne also divides Darwinism into six components. They are: evolution which means change over time, gradualism which is a policy of slower change rather than sudden change or a revolution, speciation which is the evolutionary process where a new biological species

1. There are many ecological and biological factors that affect evolution. In EvolutionLab, two populations of finches are tracked over the course of 300 years on two different islands to see how changing the traits of the birds and their environment affect their long term viability as a sustainable population. Let’s begin by doing a “null experiment” where conditions are identical on the two islands.

In what he called the ‘survival of the fittest’, Darwin suggested that through the process of natural selection animals with particular characteristics, as a result of possessing advantageous alleles, will survive. However, those with maladaptive genes cannot adapt to changes in environmental conditions, so will die or become extinct. Dowling (1994) stated that this process depends on three principles: species diversity, interaction and the spread of a species as a result of differential amplification. Sexual selection is another component of Darwin’s research, which explains the best strategies adopted for passing on genes to offspring. Moreover, there are problems with Darwin’s theory such as his attempts to generalise animal behaviour to the way in which humans interact in their environment. However, he has presented compelling evidence which is very scientific in its approach and methodology. Furthermore, contrary to Darwin’s evolutionary idea of survival of an individual, Dawkins (1976) suggested that the survival of the genes is more important.

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

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee follows the Finch family through the hardships of the 1930s. The story takes place in fictitious Maycomb County, Alabama during the 1930s, when there were many racial issues such as the Jim Crow Laws. The Finch family consists of Jean Louise, nicknamed Scout, her brother Jeremy Finch, nicknamed Jem, and their father Atticus Finch who is one of the most prestigious lawyers in Maycomb County. The family experiences first hand, the harsh injustices that face the blacks leading the children to lose their purity. Man’s inhumanity to man compels Harper Lee to write To Kill A Mockingbird exposing the social issues; causing Jem, Scout, and Dill to lose their innocence; which provokes me to have a different

He finally observed that overtime these birds developed different physical characteristics to help them be able to survive and adapt to their surroundings. Darwin developed the “Natural Selection” theory that stated that plants and animals adapt to their surroundings and environments in order to survive. He also stated that older generations of these species would eventually die out, because they do not have the newer characteristics that needed to be developed in order to live.

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

Finches have become almost synonymous with the concept of natural selection, thanks to Charles Darwin. But, while he may have come up with the theory that the finches automatically choose the traits that will benefit their existence, he didn’t really provide any solid proof of this actually happening. Of course you can assume it does because of adaptation and evolution, but it would take more than a few weeks to really get concrete evidence of this happening. Fortunately, Rosemary and Peter Grant provide us with the evidence to support the theory of evolution and natural selection. They head back to the Galapagos Islands to pick up where Darwin left off and find out what really goes on in the process of the

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution centres on the idea that species compete to survive, and favorable characteristics are passed on from one generation to the next. Darwin said that evolution took place by a process of natural selection or survival of the fittest. This meant that the animals and plants best suited to their surroundings survived and were able to pass on their genes to their offspring. The ones that weren't best suited died off and didn't get the chance to reproduce.

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).

When that happens over many generations a species’ gene pool changes to only include the traits that are a best fit for ensuring survival of that species, and a new species may evolve. In the case of the Galapagos finches Darwin studied, biologists have since found that one of the differences was their beak size, which were adapted to the specific seeds available to the finches as food on the different islands. This would support this principle as only the birds able to eat the local seeds would be able to survive to reproduce, thus over many generations, new finches with a variety of different beak sizes would “evolve”. The