1. Evolution (Darwin and Darwinism)

2. The History of An Idea Darwin’s Theory A Darwinian View of Life Human Evolution

3. The historical context of Darwin’s life and ideas

4. Fossils of trilobites, animals that lived in the seas of long ago

5. Gradualism (Hutton) – ex
Gradualism (Hutton) – ex. Strata of sedimentary rock at the Grand Canyon

6. Ideas that shaped Darwin’s worldview
Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics
Essay on the Principle of Populations
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Thomas Robert Malthus

7. Formation of sedimentary rock and deposition of fossils from different time periods
Cuvier (early 1800s) - paleontology:
the history of life recorded in rock strata

8. Excavation of British Canal system and roadways

9. Ideas that shaped Darwin’s worldview – Animal husbandry
“Polly”

10. Charles Darwin in 1859, the year The Origin of Species was published

11. The Voyage of HMS Beagle 1831-1836

12. Galapagos Islands Figure 21.00
The Galápagos islands are located in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Ecuador. Different islands in the group are ome to distinct species of marine tortoises, finches, mockingbirds, and other organisms. Darwin formulated the theory of evolution by natural selection in part to explain why closely related species are found on nearby islands.

13. Galápagos finches

14. Diversification of finches on the Galápagos Islands

15. The Origin of Species Descent with Modification (evolution)
unity of life
all organisms related through a distant ancestor
Natural Selection and Adaptation
the mechanism of evolution
capacity for “overproduction” of offspring
a struggle for survival
variability in population favors some individuals over others

16. Descent with modification

17. Overproduction of offspring

18. A few of the color variations in a population of Asian lady beetles

19. Camouflage as an example of evolutionary adaptation

20. Artificial selection: cattle breeders of ancient Africa

22. A Darwinian View of Life (Darwin’s main ideas)
Natural selection is differential success in reproduction
Natural selection occurs through an interaction between the environment and the inherent variability among the individuals making up a population
The product of natural selection is the adaptation of populations to their environment

23. Evidence for Evolution
Evidence that Species are Related
Geographic proximity of similar but distinct species.
Homologies: structural, developmental, and genetic.

24. Structural homology Humerus Radius and ulna Carpals Metacarpals
Figure: 21.2a
Caption:
(a) Even though their function varies, all vertebrate limbs are modifications of the same basic configuration, or basic plan. Darwin interpreted structural homologies like these as a product of descent with modification. Note that the limbs are not drawn to scale.
Phalanges
Turtle
Human
Horse
Bird
Bat
Seal

25. Developmental homology
Both the chick and
the human have gill
pouches and tails
Gill pouch
Figure: 21.2b
Caption:
(b) These photos show the strong resemblance of the early embryonic stages of a chick and a human.
Tail
Chick
Human

26. Figure 21.2c
( c) Each letter in the sequences given here represents an amino acid. The sequences are from a portion of the protein products of the Aniridia gene found in humans and the eyeless gene found in Drosophilia.

27. Evidence for Evolution – Darwin’s Predictions
Evidence that Species Change over Time:
Law of succession
In a given geographic region, species are succeeded by similar species
Evidence of extinctions in the fossil record
Vestigial traits

28. The Law of Succession Present-day sloth Fossil sloth Figure: 21.3
Caption:
Present-day sloth and representation of fossil sloth. The Law of Succession: Living and fossil sloths are found only in Central America and South America. Darwin interpreted similarities among fossil and living species in the same geographic area as evidence for evolution.

29. Extinctions
Fossils of trilobites, animals that lived in the seas hundreds of millions of years ago

30. Vestigial Traits Capuchin monkey tail Human coccyx
(used for balance, locomotion)
Human coccyx
Figure: 21.4, left
Caption:
The tailbone is a human trait that is functionless. But is homologous to functioning structures in related species.

31. Vestigial Traits Erect hair on chimp (insulation, emotional display)
Human goosebumps
Figure: 21.4, right
Caption:
Goose bumps are human traits that are functionless. But they are homologous to functioning structures in related species.

32. A phylogenetic tree of primates

33. Darwin as an ape - Public reception of Darwin ideas

34. Apes - our closest relatives: Gibbon , orangutan, gorilla, chimpanzee

35. A timeline for some hominid species

36. Major Features of Human Evolution
Enlarged Brain Size
450 cm3 (Homonoids 6 my)  1300 cm3 (Modern Humans)
Jaw Shape
Prognathic jaw (flattened face)
Bipedal Posture
Adaptation to non-arboreal lifestyle
Reduced Sexual Dimorphism
males ~ 1.2 times female body size
Changes in Social Structure
pair bonding, increased parental care

37. Upright posture predates an enlarged brain in human evolution
Lucy mya

38. Turkana boy - Homo habilis 1.7 mya

39. Two hypotheses for the origin of anatomically modern humans

40. Clock analogy for some key events in evolutionary history
Challenges to the understanding of evolution:
Chance
Contingency
Deep time
Extinctions
Continuity of process

41. Conclusion of “On the Origin of Species”
“There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed (by the Creator) into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” - Charles Darwin, 1859

42. Questions?
1) How does the idea that evolution is a continuous process, happening all around us all the time, rather than some remote process that happened long ago, influence the way you think about life on Earth? 2) Of the various challenges to a conceptual understanding of evolutionary theory (i.e. the role of random chance, contingency, vast stretches of time, Earth’s long history of extinctions, the process of natural selection, etc.) what gives you the most difficulty intellectually. 3) Over the years, a variety of Creationistic “alternatives” to evolution have surfaced in the popular media. This has included “scientific creationism” in the 1980s and most recently “intelligent design.” Why is the general public often quick to embrace these ideas and why have they been quickly rejected by the scientific community?