WE CAME FROM APES
Evolution: The process of change over time
Evolution is a scientific theory.
Evidence is found in the fossil record. The oldest fossils are found in the lowest layer.
Organisms evolve from:
Single celled to multicellular.
Fossils can be:
-Frozen Organisms
-Organisms petrified in stone
-Traces of organisms petrified in stone
-Organisms preserved in sap or tar
Disproved Theories of Evolution
Jean Lamarck:
Developed the theory of "Use and Disuse"
-Whatever changes occur in your lifetime, you pass along to your kids
-WRONG!
Karl Weismann:
Disapproved Lamarck
-Cut off mouse tails for several generations
-Each generation of mice still had full tails!
Charles Darwin:
The grandfather of evolution!
-Medical school, passed out at autopsy
-Law school, too boring!
-Monk, more boring!
Became a Naturalist!!
Voyage of the HMS Beagle:
Darwin's ship
-Darwin visited many parts of the world over 5 years. He was most interested in the Galapagos Islands off of Ecuador
-Many small islands
-All had different climates
-Had many organisms that were similar, but slightly different, and perfect adapted to their environments
Adaptations: Galapagos Tortoises
There are 14 different species of tortoise on the Galapagos Islands. They all come from a common ancestor millions of years ago.
On wet islands, the shells are rounder and more helmet-shaped, These tortoises can feed off the ground and maintain better protection.
On dryer islands, tortoises have saddle-shaped shells which allowed them to get their heads high up in the vegetation to feed
Overproduction: this guarantees that some organisms will survive.
Variations:
Sexual reproduction creates a new and unique combination of genes.
Mutations occurring in the gametes.
