Darwin’s Bright Idea

Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882)
• Born 12 February 1809
• Named after his uncle
(Charles) and his father
(Robert). Referred to as Click HERE for more pictures of
Darwin’s home and birthplace
“Bobby” by his family
during his childhood
• Grandson of Erasmus
Darwin
– English physician, natural
philosopher, physiologist,
inventor, and poet Charles as a child Grandpa Erasmus

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
Click HERE for an interactive
voyage of the Beagle
• 27 December 1831: joined HMS Beagle
voyage as the ship’s naturalist
• 5-yr cruise around the world to chart
unknown territory, especially along the S.
Am. Coastline; visited the Galapagos islands

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
• Galapagos Islands
– Group of small islands
1,000 km west of
Ecuador
– Influenced Darwin’s
thinking the most
• Characteristics of
organisms varied
noticeably
(Click below to watch videos
of the Galapagos fauna)
Marine iguanas Blue-footed boobies Tortoises

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
• Galapagos Islands
– Darwin’s finches
• 13 specimens collected
• Brought home to England and studied by ornithologist John
Gould
Are these
finches
variants of the
same species,
or are they
different
species?

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
• Galapagos Islands
– Darwin’s finches
• 13 specimens collected
• Brought home to England and studied by ornithologist John
Gould
Despite many
superficial
resemblances,
these birds are
from distinct
species.
John Gould
Zoological Society of London

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
• Galapagos Islands
– Darwin’s finches
• 13 specimens collected
• Brought home to England and studied by ornithologist John
Gould
If they are from different
species, why do they have
similar appearances? Are they
related to each other? Could it
be that they were once part of
the same species?

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
• What Darwin noticed:
– The diversity of life
– Fitness of organisms
Animals of
Australian grasslands
1. Feral pig (wild
boar; Sus scrofa) 1 2
2. Eastern grey
kangaroo(Macrop 3 4
us giganteus)
3. Dingo (Canis lupus
dingo)
4. European rabbit
(Oryctolagus
cuniculus)

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
• What Darwin noticed:
– The diversity of life
– Fitness of organisms
Animals of Argentinian grasslands
1. Pampas cat (Leopardus pajeros)
2. Greater Rhea (Rhea americana)
3. Pampas finch (Embernagra platensis)
4
4. Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus)
1 2 3

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
Where did all these
Did you know…?
life forms come from?
Scientists estimate that
around 3 to 20 million
species exist today, and
Why did different that 99.9% of all species
species live in certain that ever lived are now
places? extinct.
Why have so many of
them disappeared, and
how were they related to
living species?

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
• What Darwin noticed:
– The diversity of life
– Fitness of organisms
• Ability of an individual
to survive and
reproduce in its specific Insectivorous pitcher plant
(Nepenthes attenboroughii)
environment
Tarsier
(Tarsius syrichta) Philippine flying lemur
(Cynocephalus volans)

Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836)
• What Darwin noticed:
– The diversity of life
– Fitness of organisms
• Ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in its specific
environment
– Due to physical traits and behaviors that help it adapt to
environmental conditions
Why are there so
many different
techniques for
survival?
How did all these
organisms develop the
structures that give
them their fitness?

On the Origin of Species (1859)
• 1858 June 18
Darwin received a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace,
who was still at the Malay Archipelago.
On the Tendency of Varieties
to Depart Indefinitely from
the Original Type

On the Origin of Species (1859)
• 1858 June 18
Darwin received a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace,
who was still at the Malay Archipelago.
Wallace had come up with a
theory of natural selection
that is very similar to my
own! :O

On the Origin of Species (1859)
• 1858 June 18
Darwin received a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace,
who was still at the Malay Archipelago.
The struggle for
existence…the
transmutation of the
species…

On the Origin of Species (1859)
• 1858 July 1
Charles Darwin first went public about his views on the
evolution of species. The papers of Darwin and Wallace
were read at a meeting of the Linnean Society in
London. The reaction to this meeting was a mixture of
shock, excitement, and stunned silence.
AboutDarwin.com

On the Origin of Species (1859)
• Published 24
November 1859
• Two main concepts:
– Evolution
• Common descent
– Natural selection

On the Origin of Species (1859)
• Evolution: descent with modification
– Process of change in species through time
– Common descent
• Natural selection: mechanisms for evolution
– Adaptations
– Struggle for existence

On the Origin of Species (1859)
• 1860 January
The repercussions of Origin of Species were mixed. Thomas Huxley and
Joseph Hooker thought very highly of it and soon became stronger allies
with Darwin. Huxley soon became a ruthless defender of evolution, even
going so far as to suggest that mankind was a transmuted ape! Richard
Owen was outraged by the Origin. He saw the ideas expressed in the book
as being dangerous to society. He also though the book left too many
unanswered questions, and worst of all it leaned natural science away
from its respectable position as an investigator of God’s creation. Most
readers, however, simply did not understand how natural selection
worked. They could not see who or what was doing the selecting. Many
assumed God was the selector.
AboutDarwin.com
Thomas Huxley Joseph Hooker Richard Owen

On the Origin of Species (1859)
• 1866
The phrase, “Survival of
the fittest,” was coined by
Herbert Spencer in his two
volume book: “Principles
of Biology”. It became a
substitute for the phrase,
“natural selection”, which
led people to think
selection required a
selector (i.e., God).
AboutDarwin.com

Ideas That Shaped Darwin’s Theory
Plant & Animal
Breeding
Economics Geology
EVOLUTION

Ideas That Shaped Darwin’s Theory
• ECONOMICS
Competition for limited resources
Woodstock 1969

Ideas That Shaped Darwin’s Theory
• PLANT AND ANIMAL BREEDING
– Artificial selection
Variants of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familaris)
The intervention of
humans ensures that
only individuals with the
most desirable traits
produce offspring.

Ideas That Shaped Darwin’s Theory
• GEOLOGY
– The Earth is more than just a few thousand years old

Natural Selection
as a Mechanism for Evolution
• Overproduction
• Variation
• Competition
• Survival to
reproduce
Click HERE
for my story!

Natural Selection
as a Mechanism for Evolution
• Overproduction
Each species produces
more offspring than will
survive to maturity
• Variation
• Competition
• Survival to
reproduce

Natural Selection
as a Mechanism for Evolution
• Overproduction
Each species produces
more offspring than will
survive to maturity
• Variation
There is variation among
offspring
• Competition
• Survival to
reproduce

Natural Selection
as a Mechanism for Evolution
• Overproduction
Each species produces
more offspring than will
survive to maturity
• Variation
There is variation among
offspring
• Competition  Struggle for existence
Organisms compete with
one another for limited
resources
• Survival to
reproduce

Natural Selection
as a Mechanism for Evolution
• Overproduction
Each species produces
more offspring than will
survive to maturity
• Variation
There is variation among
offspring
• Competition  Struggle for existence
Organisms compete with
one another for limited
resources
• Survival to
 Survival of the fittest
reproduce
Individuals that possess
the most favorable
combination of
characteristics are the
most likely to survive

Natural Selection
as a Mechanism for Evolution
• Overproduction
Each species produces
more offspring than will
survive to maturity
• Variation
There is variation among
offspring
• Competition Lycaon pictus Canis latrans Vulpes spp. Canis lupus Canis spp.
Organisms compete with
one another for limited
resources
• Survival to
reproduce
Individuals that possess
the most favorable The differential success in reproduction resulting from the
combination of organisms’ interaction with their environment
characteristics are the
most likely to survive

Natural vs. Artificial Selection
Variants of domestic dogs (Canis lupus familaris)
• Operates in
similar manners
• Natural selection
occurs over
much longer
periods of time,
w/o any goal or
purpose
Lycaon pictus Canis latrans Vulpes spp. Canis lupus Canis spp.

Natural Selection in Populations
• Natural selection involves interactions between individual
organisms and their environment, but individuals do NOT
evolve
• A population is the smallest unit that can evolve
Click the pic to view a
simulation of natural
selection in a population of
fictitious blue organisms.

Evolution
Lamarckian vs. Darwinian
Overproduction,
Desire to change,
variation,
use and disuse,
competition,
inheritance of
survival to
acquired traits
reproduce

Evolution
Lamarckian vs. Darwinian
• Desire to change
Inborn urge to better themselves;
innate tendency toward complexity
and perfection
• Use and disuse
Change occurred because organisms
could alter their shape by using their
bodies in new ways
• Inheritance of acquired
traits
If an animal acquired a body Overproduction,
Desire to change,
structure during its lifetime, it could variation,
use and disuse,
pass that change to its offpsring competition,
inheritance of
survival to
acquired traits
reproduce

Evolution
Lamarckian vs. Darwinian
• Overproduction
Each species produces more offspring
than will survive to maturity
• Variation
There is variation among offspring
• Competition
Organisms compete with one another
for limited resources
• Survival to reproduce
Individuals that possess the most Overproduction,
Desire to change,
favorable combination of variation,
use and disuse,
characteristics are the most likely to competition,
inheritance of
survive survival to
acquired traits
reproduce

Evolution
Lamarckian vs. Darwinian
Overproduction,
Desire to change,
variation,
use and disuse,
competition,
inheritance of
survival to
acquired traits
reproduce

Click to learn more about
Darwin’s Bright Idea
Understanding Evolution PBS.org – Evolution
AboutDarwin.com Nature – Darwin 200 DarwinLive.com
NY Times – Charles Darwin NY Times – Evolution LiveScience.com - Evolution

References
• Main reference
Miller, K.R. and Levine, J. (1995). Biology. Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• Other references
– Campbell, N.A. and Reece, J.B. (2004). Biology (7th ed.). Menlo
Park, California: Benjamin Cummings.
– Miller, K.R. and Levine, J. (2002). Biology. Upper Saddle River,
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
– Solomon, E.P., Berg, L.R., Martin, D.W., and Villee, C. (1993).
Biology (3rd ed.). Fort Worth: Saunders College Publishing.

Image Sources
• Slide 2
Shrewsbury: http://www.voa.gov.uk/where/images/shrewesbury.gif
Charles: http://www.darwinday.org/learn/darwin.html
Erasmus:
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2004/wallis/a%20fool%20you%20know.htm
• Slide 3
Interactive voyage of the Beagle: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/science-of-
natural-history/expeditions-collecting/beagle-voyage/
• Slide 4
Galapagos: http://www.galapagoskreuzfahrten.com/photo/news/200709_05.gif
• Slide 5, 6, 7
Finches: http://campus.digication.com/darwin/finches
• Slide 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 21
Darwin: http://www.arps.org/USERS/ms/KepplerC/Charles-Darwin-31.jpg

Image Sources
• Slide 6
Gould: http://www.nla.gov.au/collect/treasures/images/gouldport.jpg
• Slide 8
Feral pig: http://simplebrowser.blogspot.com/2007/10/feral-pigs-biggest-problem-in-
australia.html
Kangaroo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Grey_Kangaroo
Dingo: http://kritterkorner.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/dingo-wild-dog-of-australia/
Rabbit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oryctolagus_cuniculus_Tasmania.jpg
• Slide 9
Pampas cat - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pampas_Cat
Pampas deer -
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_rotqvPRmbtU/SQEarZPe2AI/AAAAAAAAH5Q/RgBebPPBLqE/DSC_
5229.JPG
Pampas finch -
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DPCSd1DIHig/SJRQ2g2N0wI/AAAAAAAAAgY/7fz3Khq1Fks/s4
00/GreatPampafinch.jpg
Greater Rhea - http://tolweb.org/tree/ToLimages/451883177_c9b2ddfbb6_o.jpg

Image Sources
• Slide 11
Pitcher plant -
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/18/meat.eating.plant/index.html
Tarsier - http://scienceguy288.wordpress.com/2009/07/29/wildlife-wednesday-tarsier/
Philippine flying lemur - http://dailymammal.blogspot.com/2008/05/philippine-flying-
lemur-colugo.html
• Slide 13, 15
Wallace: http://stewartsstruggles.blogspot.com/2008/08/wallace.html
• Slide 14, 16, 19
Yahoo Emoticons: http://messenger.yahoo.com/features/emoticons/
• Slide 17
Origin: http://spencer.lib.ku.edu/exhibits/darwin/originb.jpg

Image Sources
• Slide 19
Huxley: http://www2.scc-fl.edu/asalmon/chronology_complete_version.htm
Hooker: http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~alroy/lefa/Hooker.html
Owen: http://evolvingwithdarwin.blogspot.com/2008/07/sir-richard-owen.html
• Slide 20
Herbert Spencer: http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Biology-v-1/dp/0898757940
• Slide 21, 22
Malthus: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/edu/dees/courses/v1001/evol.html
• Slide 22
Woodstock: http://sparkncinder.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/woodstock-1969/
Crops:
http://marincountyfreelibrary.blogspot.com/2004_06_01_marincountyfreelibrary_archi
ve.html#108785724111160085
• Slide 21, 23, 31
Concepts and Connections by Campbell and Reece

Image Sources
• Slide 21, 24
Lyell: http://historiadaciencia.blogspot.com/2009/03/o-impacto-do-manuscrito-de-
wallace-de.html
• Slide 24
Principles: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/02/4/image_pop/l_024_01.html
• Slides 25 to 29
Puppies nursing: http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/finnegan.asp
• Slide 30, 31
Concepts and Connections by Campbell and Reece
• Slide 32
Natural Selection Simulation: http://www.biologyinmotion.com/evol/index.html

Image Sources
• Slides 33 to 36
Lamarck: http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/~alroy/lefa/Lamarck.html
Darwin: http://faculty.frostburg.edu/mbradley/psyography/darwin.jpg
• Slides 33 to 35
Giraffe: http://www.betterphoto.com/uploads/processed/0026/0601291522231ms-
588.jpg
• Slide 36
Giraffe: http://illustrationboard.blogspot.com/2009/06/evolution-wiped-out-short-
stumpy.html
Acknowledgment:
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