Studied by 1 personevolution
change in the heritable characteristics of a population over time; process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms
Linnaeus
1700s Swedish Botanist; created a classification system for organisms grouped by similarities that reflects evolutionary relationships rejected belief: organisms not changing over time
Buffon
1700s French naturalist species share ancestors rather than evolve separately (correct) suggested Earth older: most believed 6000 years old
Erasmus Darwin
1731 doctor and poet, Darwin's grandfather believed all living things descended from common ancestor believed more complex forms developed from less complex
Lamarck
1809 French naturalist believed: environment change leads to behavior change, then use or disuse of a structure and these changes were passed on idea: use or disuse (wrong)
Cuvier
french zoologist believed: species could become extinct, fossils in deep layers of rock are different from fossils in upper proposed: catastrophism
catastrophism
natural disasters shape landforms & cause mass extinctions
Hutton
1700s Scottish geologist believed: earth older than believed proposed: gradualism
gradualism
changes in landforms due to slow changes over long period
Lyell
1830s English geologist; wrote Principles of Geology proposed: theory of uniformitarianism greatly influenced Darwin
uniformitarianism
prevailing geologic change theory: geological processes are constant and ongoing
Thomas Malthus
1798 British philosopher and economist believed: If all offspring are able to survive, there won't be enough space or food on a graph, the population: exponential, increase; food: linear
Alfred Wallace
1858: writes to Charles Darwin about natural selection 1859: Charles Darwin writes "The Origin of the Species" and acknowledges him
Charles Darwin
born 1809 England most contributed to understanding evolution traveled world on HMS Beagle as a naturalist seeking a scientific explanation for diversity of life hypothesis: way life changes over time; led to evolution theory
Darwin's observations
numerous species populate: differences exist within one each organism suited to their environment found fossils extinct organisms wondered why they resembled modern animals variation, or difference in physical traits: some allow survive and reproduce more "Tree of Life" Idea wondered if different animals once belonged to the same species
adaptation
inherited feature that allows organisms to better survive in environment; arose over many generations
artificial selection
process by which humans select traits through breeding
natural selection
inherited adaptations: more offspring with existing traits results: changes in inherited characteristics; increase fitness for survival
principles of evolution
variation, overproduction, adaptation, descent with modification
descent with modification
the idea that species change over time, give rise to new species, and share a common ancestor
adaptive compromise
some structures take on new functions (panda's thumb)
heritability
ability of trait to be passed to offspring
fitness
the measure of survival ability and ability to produce more offspring (survival of the fittest)
differential survival
when some in population have a phenotypic advantage (camouflage)
selective pressure
when changing environments favor some phenotypes over others
fossils
remains of organisms that lived long ago; specific conditions needed
permineralization
minerals carried by water deposited around hard structure
natural cast
flowing water removes original tissue, leaving an impression in the rock
trace fossils
record the activity of an organism (footprints)
amber preserved
organisms trapped in tree resin; hardens after tree is buried
preserved remains
organism becomes encased in material (ice)
radiometric dating
estimate age of fossils by calculating the decay of unstable isotopes
half life
amount of time it takes for the isotope to decay to half its original value
relative dating
estimates time which organisms lived; compares fossil placement in rock layers; scientists can then infer order species existed
index fossils
determine relative rock layer age; existed during specific time, large geographic areas: include fusulinids & trilobites
evolution evidence
fossils, geography, developmental similarities, vestigial structures/structural patterns, homologous structures, data
vestigial structures
remnants of organs/structures from early ancestors that no longer function in an organism
homologous structures
similar structure, different function, indicate common ancestor
analogous structures
different structure, similar function, no evidence of common ancestor
Note 
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