Evolution

Have you ever thought about why life is so diverse? The answer is because of evolution

by natural selection. Evolution is a gradual change over many generations in which species adapt

to become better suited to their environment. In the confines of this paper, you will join me in

my journey back in time to discover the meaning and history of evolution.

Natural Selection is a process where only those best suited to their environment survive

long enough to reproduce. There are three main factors that affect natural selection: Variations,

overproduction, and competition. Organisms that manage to reproduce pass their favorable traits

that allowed them to survive so far on to the next generation, who in turn have their own unique

traits, or variations, which have a part in determining who will survive, and so on and so forth.

Variations are very important. If there were no variations in species, natural selection couldn’t

happen because every individual would have the same chance of surviving to reproduce.

Many species make a lot more offspring than the environment can support. Obviously,

they can’t all live. This ties in to the competition part of it. Organisms must compete against each

other to survive, since resources are so limited. Competition isn’t always actual fighting. Often

it’s more indirect competition, like escaping a predator or finding food.

There are four main points in the theory of natural selection. First, individuals are born

with variations among the rest of the species. Secondly, some of these variations make

individuals better adapted to their environment. Thirdly, these organisms are more likely to

reproduce and pass their traits on. Lastly, in time this creates a new species.

The theory of natural selection was discovered by Charles Darwin. Darwin was a British

naturalist born in 1809. When he was 22, he went on a voyage on the ship Beagle. From his
observations on the Galapagos Islands, he came up with the idea of natural selection. He then

spent more than 20 years perfecting his theory. In 859, he published a book called The Origin of

Species. In it, Darwin proposed how evolution might occur from natural selection. It’s his most

famous work.

When Darwin first published his theory in The Origin of Species, it was heavily criticized

for religious reasons. Many rejected natural selection since it seemed to clash with the biblical

account of man. Natural Selection was and still is a very controversial theory. Even though the

Catholic Pope stated in 1996 that evolution was more than a hypothesis and there was no conflict

between evolution and the Bible, less than half of all Americans accept evolution today. People

that reject evolution for a more religious worldview are called creationists.

Evolution forms the basis of all biology. If we didn’t understand evolution, we wouldn’t

have any knowledge of genetics, heredity, DNA, and many other aspects of science. Besides

biology, evolution greatly increased our knowledge in such fields as medicine, agriculture, and

even crime forensics!

Evolution is a theory with a lot of evidence for it. However, evolution is not a theory in

the common sense of the word. It is a scientific theory, which is a well-tested concept that

explains a wide range of observations. Evolution is therefore treated as fact by the scientific

community. That organisms have changed over time is evident in the fossil record, patterns in

early development, and similar body structures. Some species have similar body structures

because they evolved from a common ancestor. These structures are called homologous

structures.

Scientists know that the environment sometimes changes. This environmental change can

cause extinctions. Environmental change eliminates food sources, disrupts birth schedules, and
exposes animals to conditions which they are not adapted to. In this way, species that are most

successful in a given environment are particularly suspect to environmental change. Versatile

species which can live in many different environments are the most likely to survive. Extinction

is becoming an extremely prevalent problem in today’s world. Species are dying faster than ever

before, at a rate of 1000 to 1. Some say climate change is at fault for animal extinctions, while

others blame humans hunting them and destroying their habitats. Regardless of what causes

extinctions, it is only one of the many things we now understand much better due to evolution.

Evolution is an important scientific theory that explains biodiversity. It is crucial to

understanding the natural world. Darwin came up with the idea of natural selection as the

mechanism which drives evolution, and so far scientists haven’t been able to disprove his theory.

In fact, just the opposite. They have found a lot of evidence supporting natural selection. While

some of the details may have changed, his principle idea has remained unchanged for almost two

hundred years.

Works Cited
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3. Cronkite Ph.D., Donald. Cells and Heredity. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2007.

4. “How Does Evolution Impact My Life?.” Understanding Evolution. 15 Oct 2008.

<http://evolution.berekely.edu/evolibrary/search/topicbrowse2.php?topic_id=47>.

5. K., Mani. “What is a Fossil?.” Fossils: Window to the Past. Dec. 1996. University of

California Museum of Paleontology. 15 Oct 2008.

<http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/paleo/fossils/>.

6. Plover, Roger. “Extinction in the Natural World.” Mysteries of Life. June 2006. 15 Oct

2008. <http://www.plover/keyword=extinction5092/environ.html/>.

7. Science and Technology Department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. The Handy

Science Answer Book. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press, 1997.

8. “Series Overview.” Evolution. PBS. 21 Oct 2008.

<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/about/overview_series.html>.

9. Wilson, Tracy V. “How Extinction Works.” How Stuff Works. Discovery. 15 Oct 2008.

<http://science.howstuffworks.com/extinction.htm>.

10. Wilson, Tracy V. “How Fossils Work.” How Stuff Works. Discovery. 15 Oct 2008.

<http://science.howstuffworks.com/fossil.htm>.

11. “The Late Pleistocene Extinctions.” The United States 16000 Years Ago. Illinois State

Museum. 15 Oct 2008.

<http://www.museum.state.il.us/exhibits/Larson/lp_extinction.html>.