Module 2
The Evolution Processes
and Concepts
Lesson 1
The Life and Works of Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
- He came from a wealthy family in Shrewsbury, England.
- His father is Robert Darwin who has the largest medical practice in
London.
- His mother is Susannah Wedgwood who came from a wealthy pottery
manufacturer and dies when Charles was 8 years old.
- At 16 years old he studies in University of Edinburgh in Scotland as a
medical student. However, he dropped out because of “brutality” due
to the on-usage of anesthesia during operation (surgery) after 2 years
(1827)
- While he was there, he met Robert Grant who was a professor of
anatomy and an avid marine biologist.
- During that time, Jean Lamarck (1774-1829) made the 1st systematic
concept on evolution with the “inheritance of acquired
characteristics”.
- In 1828, Charles was sent to Cambridge University to pursue an
“ordinary degree”.
- In 1831, he graduated Bachelor of Arts degree but he was more
interested in biology and geology.
- It was John Henslow who secured Charles a berth on a British navy
mapping expedition on board H.M.S. Beagle with Capt. Robert
Fritzroy on December 27, 1831 with a man servant.
- Charles was 22 years old and was at sea for only 18 months during
the nearly 5 years of expedition.
- While on board, Charles read Lyell’s Principle of Geology.
- By the time they reached the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific
Ocean (South America), he noticed 13 different species of finches
which he collected (Ornithologist). He studied the different beak sizes
and shapes.
1
, - In his findings, he learned the concept on ADAPTIVE RADIATION
which refers to the branching evolution in which different populations
of a species become reproductively isolated from each other adapting
to the different ecological niches and eventually become separate
species.
- NATURAL SELECTION where nature selected the best adapted
varieties to survive and to reproduce (finches with beaks for better
eating)
- SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST (1860s) where there is the process of
selection and weak shall perish and only the strong ones survive.
- On these concepts, Charles was influenced by Thomas Malthus (1798)
who is an economist with the book “Principles of Population” that
discusses the concept of predators (The Peppered Moth Story by Sir
Cyril Clarke in 1959-1995)
- Charles married Emma Wedgwood who was his wealthy first cousin.
- When he was 50 years old (1859) he published his theory of evolution
in full 490-page book entitled “On the Origin of Species” in November
24, 1859 and was sold out in one day.
- In 1858, a young British naturalist Alfred Wallace gave him an essay
about biological specimens in Southeast Asia.
- By this time, Gregor Mendel who was a Central European Monk
conceptualize deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Through plant breeding he
discovered that there is a recombination of parental traits in offspring.
This paved the way for the concept on Genetic Inheritance in the 20th
century.
- In 1838, Jacques Boucher de Crevecoeur (Boucher de Perthes) a
French archaeologist had an archaeological finding which is the
Neanderthals (150,000 – 28,000 years ago).
2
The Evolution Processes
and Concepts
Lesson 1
The Life and Works of Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
- He came from a wealthy family in Shrewsbury, England.
- His father is Robert Darwin who has the largest medical practice in
London.
- His mother is Susannah Wedgwood who came from a wealthy pottery
manufacturer and dies when Charles was 8 years old.
- At 16 years old he studies in University of Edinburgh in Scotland as a
medical student. However, he dropped out because of “brutality” due
to the on-usage of anesthesia during operation (surgery) after 2 years
(1827)
- While he was there, he met Robert Grant who was a professor of
anatomy and an avid marine biologist.
- During that time, Jean Lamarck (1774-1829) made the 1st systematic
concept on evolution with the “inheritance of acquired
characteristics”.
- In 1828, Charles was sent to Cambridge University to pursue an
“ordinary degree”.
- In 1831, he graduated Bachelor of Arts degree but he was more
interested in biology and geology.
- It was John Henslow who secured Charles a berth on a British navy
mapping expedition on board H.M.S. Beagle with Capt. Robert
Fritzroy on December 27, 1831 with a man servant.
- Charles was 22 years old and was at sea for only 18 months during
the nearly 5 years of expedition.
- While on board, Charles read Lyell’s Principle of Geology.
- By the time they reached the Galapagos Islands in the eastern Pacific
Ocean (South America), he noticed 13 different species of finches
which he collected (Ornithologist). He studied the different beak sizes
and shapes.
1
, - In his findings, he learned the concept on ADAPTIVE RADIATION
which refers to the branching evolution in which different populations
of a species become reproductively isolated from each other adapting
to the different ecological niches and eventually become separate
species.
- NATURAL SELECTION where nature selected the best adapted
varieties to survive and to reproduce (finches with beaks for better
eating)
- SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST (1860s) where there is the process of
selection and weak shall perish and only the strong ones survive.
- On these concepts, Charles was influenced by Thomas Malthus (1798)
who is an economist with the book “Principles of Population” that
discusses the concept of predators (The Peppered Moth Story by Sir
Cyril Clarke in 1959-1995)
- Charles married Emma Wedgwood who was his wealthy first cousin.
- When he was 50 years old (1859) he published his theory of evolution
in full 490-page book entitled “On the Origin of Species” in November
24, 1859 and was sold out in one day.
- In 1858, a young British naturalist Alfred Wallace gave him an essay
about biological specimens in Southeast Asia.
- By this time, Gregor Mendel who was a Central European Monk
conceptualize deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Through plant breeding he
discovered that there is a recombination of parental traits in offspring.
This paved the way for the concept on Genetic Inheritance in the 20th
century.
- In 1838, Jacques Boucher de Crevecoeur (Boucher de Perthes) a
French archaeologist had an archaeological finding which is the
Neanderthals (150,000 – 28,000 years ago).
2
