Ch. 22 Objectives

Define evolution and the concept of biological evolution

Explain Darwin's two hypotheses outlined in, The Origin of Species, descent with modification and natural selection

Discuss early beliefs such as natural theology and how it conflicted with evolutionary thought

Review the impact of evidence discovered through fossils and sedimentary rock on evolutionary thought

Briefly review early theories of evolution such as Cuvier's Theory of Catastrophism and Lamark's Theory of The Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics.

How did the concepts of gradualism and uniformitarianism influence thought on biological evolution?

Discuss the work of Darwin during his voyage on HMS Beagle and how it led to his concepts of biological evolution

Identify examples of evolution Darwin observed on the Galapagos Islands

Discuss examples of natural selection in action

Identify examples of selection illustrated by artificial selection.

Explain why Darwin's theory of natural selection was not initially accepted by the scientific community while descent with modification was generally accepted

Review how evidence from the following fields of study help support a concept of natural selection and evolution: biogeography, fossils, comparative anatomy, taxonomy, comparative embryology and molecular biology

Explain how evolutionary thought has changed over time and the concept of the modern evolutionary synthesis

Review the concept of Natural Selection, conditions that must exist for natural selection to occur and how natural selection relates to the concept of biological evolution