Ch. 2 - Early evolutionary ideas

Linnaeus (1707 - 1778)

Swedish botanist known for developing the modern system of naming organisms, known as binomial nomenclature, which classifies species into hierarchical categories.

(Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species)

Lamarck

French biologist known for his early theory of evolution, suggesting that organisms can pass on traits acquired during their lifetime to their offspring, exemplified by his ideas on the inheritance of acquired characteristics.

Wrote “Philosophie Zoologique” in 1809.

Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)

English naturalist and geologist best known for his contributions to the theory of evolution. Went on the Voyage of the Beagle from 1831- 1836. Visited the Galápagos Islands in 1835.

Charles Darwin’s book

Published in 1859, the book “On the Origin of Species” proposed two major theses.

IF: 1) Individuals vary in their phenotypes 2) Variations are at least partially inherited 3) Individual survival are non-random, depending on the phenotype

THEN: evolution by natural selection must take place.

Modern evolutionary biology

1) Darwin’s original ideas - natural selection, variation, inheritance.

2) Modern synthesis - adds Gregor Mendel’s ideas of genetics, mutations, populations, and drift.

3) Present day - expands further with development, epigenetics, ecology, culture, and systems biology.

Timeline construction

1) Linnaeus’s taxonomy paper (1758)

2) Malthus’ population growth observation (1798)

3) Lamark’s inheritance of traits (1809)

4) Darwin’s beagle voyage (1831)

5) Wallace writes to Darwin (1858)

6) Darwin publishes Origin of Species (1859)

7) Mendel’s pea experiment (1866)

8) Fisher’s population genetics calculations (1930)

9) Huxley’s Modern Synthesis book (1942)

10) Mayr’s defines a species (1942)

11) Watson, Crick, and Franklin discover DNA (1953)