The Theory of Evolution
"The theory of evolution by cumulative natural selection is the only theory we know of that is in principle capable of explaining the existence of organized complexity."- Dr. Richard Dawkins. Dr. Dawkins is an evolutionary scientist that wrote the books, The Selfish Gene and The Extended Phenotype. He is one of many who believe that Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the best theory about evolution. This is because Darwin had the facts and basics of evolution such as natural selection, mutation, and more. Mutation is when there is a change of a DNA sequence in a gene. People would think just because Darwin has an idea does not mean it is true. However Darwin was clever enough to put enough proof in his theory. One of his most famous pieces of evidence is his drawings on the Galapagos finches. This shows the difference of the same bird by the shape of their beaks. Also Darwin created his famous evolutionary tree showing which species was related to which, such as humans were related to apes. Darwin's theory impacted the world by not only showing the truth about evolution, but the truth about us.
This is a picture of an example showing some of the components of Natural Selection; variation, differential reproduction, and heredity
Evolution happens by a very important process called Natural Selection. Natural Selection is a process in nature in which organisms possessing certain types of traits make them better adapted to the environment. These species tend to survive, reproduce, increase the amount of the species, and therefore the species thrives for many generations to come. This process has four main components in it and they are the following: variation, inheritance, high rate of population growth, and differential survival and reproduction. Variation is when organisms show individual variation in appearance and behavior. This might involve voice properties, facial markings, hair color, or body size. The second component is inheritance and this is when traits get passed down to offspring. These are not traits passed down by the environment. The third is high rate of population growth. Many populations have more offspring than the environment has for resources, which leads to a struggle for resources amongst the species. The final component is differential survival and reproduction. This is when individuals possessing traits well suited for the struggle for resources will then make more offspring for the next generation and this is mainly natural selection. Natural selection only occurs when one of these requirements are met. There are many examples for showing natural selection, but the best way is Darwin's famous finches. While visiting the Galapagos Islands, Darwin observed many finches on different islands, but when he got back on the Beagle, his ship, he saw each one had different beaks. Some for nut-cracking, berry picking, bugs, and much more. He thought why would they have different beaks and then it hit him. It is because each beak is designed for a specific environment. This is when Darwin had his first ideas on natural selection. Natural Selection is the key part to evolution and will always be.
Interesting fact number five. Darwin was like many people a procrastinator. it took him 20 years to publish The Origin of Species