Charles Darwin is considered the founder of the modern theory of evolution. He traveled for 5 years as the naturalist on the HMS Beagle, collecting and mapping in South America and the Pacific, including the Galapagos Islands. Darwin observed natural selection, where individuals with variations favorable for their environment, such as a fast fish with camouflage, are more likely to survive and pass on their traits, causing populations to change over many generations as the offspring of survivors make up a larger proportion.

1. A little about Charlie Charles Darwin is considered the founder of the modern theory of evolution In 1831 Darwin was given the position of Naturalist on the HMS Beagle For 5 years he traveled in South America and the south Pacific collecting and mapping

2. Galapagos Islands Small group of islands about 1000 km of the west coast of South America Part of Ecuador Support some of the greatest diversity of animal and plant life BIODIVERSITY

4. Some of the struggles Darwin Envisioned to show how things change Competition for food Competition for space Escape from predators The need for shelter

5. Darwin looked at pigeon Breeding Breed desirable traits This is called Artificial Selection- A technique in which a breeder selects particular traits.

6. NATURAL SELECTION A- In nature, there is a tendency toward over production of offspring. Fishes, for example, lay thousands, sometimes millions, of eggs B- In any population of organisms, individuals will exhibit slight variations . Fishes may differ slightly in color, fin and tail size as well as speed

7. C- Individuals with variations favorable for a particular environment are more likely to survive and pass those variations on to the next generation than individuals with less-favorable variations. Example- a fast fish with a skin color that allows it to blend in better with its surroundings is more likely to survive to a reproductive age then slow fish with more obvious color.

8. D- Gradually, offspring of survivors will make up larger proportion of the population. Depending upon the environmental factors, after many generations, a population may come to look entirely different.