1. Developing The Theory of Evolution: A Look at People who Contributed (willingly or not)
Thomas Malthus
Charles Darwin, with Alfred Russell
Jean Baptiste Lamarcke
Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould
Georges Cuvier
Charles Lyell
1830 – 1833
1858
1800
1972
1800 – 1822
1798 – 1826

2. Georges Cuvier The “Father of paleontology.”
Findings used by evolutionists:
The deeper the layer of rock, the older it is.
As you dig deeper, the fossils become more and more different from modern organisms.
Extinction is common.

3. Jean Baptiste Lamarcke
Furthered theory of Evolution:
The environment creates changes in animals.
Species start out simple and get more complex.
“Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics”: Characteristics acquired during lifetime are passed on to offspring. (Incorrect)

4. Thomas Malthus Political economist
Populations grow faster than their food supply, leading to massive competition & starvation, disease, & war.
This was key to Darwin’s theory
Darwin applied it to evolution & came up with Natural Selection. The individuals that “win” reproduce & pass on their adaptations.

5. Charles Lyell Geologist
Geological features are in a slow, continuous cycle of change.
Estimated Earth to be much older than generally believed
Darwin applied this to evolution: Slow, subtle changes (not visible at the moment) result in massive changes (ex. New species) over time.

6. Charles Darwin Was hired as a naturalist on the HMS Beagle
Sailed around the world
Collected 1000s of specimens
Found many examples of vestigial features (structures that have no function currently. Ex: appendix)
Found homologous features (traits that have common structures, but different functions). Ex: hand, hoof, fin all have same bones.
Made him question Creation

7. Charles Darwin with Alfred Wallace
Put together ideas from all scientists mentioned previously
Never used the term “Evolution” because it implies progress
Instead, he called it Descent with Modification (in each generation, the population becomes better adapted or dies).
Analyzed his findings for 20 years before writing a journal article!

8. Niles Eldredge
Punctuated Equilibrium (with Gould): history consists of long periods of no change (equilibrium), punctuated by periods of speciation.
Species go through the most change just after speciation event.

9. Stephen Jay Gould Punctuated Equilibrium (with Eldredge).
Evolution does sometimes act to make organisms simpler (ex. parasites).
Not all traits are selected for or against – some just exist as by-products of other traits.