Lesson 6-Development of Evolutionary Thought

INTRODUCTION:

 Scientific classification is a method by which biologists organize living things into groups. It is also called
taxonomy. Groups of organisms in taxonomy are called taxa (singular, taxon). You may already be familiar with
commonly used taxa, such as the kingdom and species.
 Why do biologists classify organisms? The major reason is to make sense of the incredible diversity of life on
Earth. Scientists have identified millions of different species of organisms. Among animals, the most diverse
group of organisms is the insects.
Linnaean System of Classification

 The most influential early classification system was developed by Carolus Linnaeus. In fact, all modern
classification systems have their roots in Linnaeus’ system. Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist who lived during
the 1700s. He is known as the “father of taxonomy.” Linnaeus tried to describe and classify the entire known
natural world. In 1735, he published his classification system in a work called Systema Naturae (“System of
Nature”).
 The taxa are below:
o Kingdom - This is the highest taxon in Linnaean taxonomy, representing major divisions of organisms.
Kingdoms of organisms include the plant and animal kingdoms.
o Phylum (plural, phyla) - This taxon is a division of a kingdom. Phyla in the animal kingdom include
chordates (animals with an internal skeleton) and arthropods (animals with an external skeleton).
o Class - This taxon is a division of a phylum. Classes in the chordate phylum include mammals and birds.
o Order - This taxon is a division of a class. Orders in the mammal class include rodents and primates.
o Family - This taxon is a division of an order. Families in the primate order include hominids (apes and
humans) and hylobatids (gibbons).
o Genus - This taxon is a division of a family. Genera in the hominid family include Homo (humans) and
Pan (chimpanzees).
o Species - This taxon is below the genus and the lowest taxon in Linnaeus’ system. Species in the Pan
genus include Pan troglodytes(common chimpanzees) and Pan paniscus (pygmy chimpanzees).

 Thomas Malthus was an English economist. He wrote a popular essay called “On Population.” He argued that
human populations have the potential to grow faster than the resources they need. When populations get too
big, disease and famine occur. These calamities control population size by killing off the weakest people.
 Catastrophism was a theory developed by Georges Cuvier based on paleontological evidence in the Paris Basin.
Cuvier was there when he observed something peculiar about the fossil record. Instead of finding a continuous
succession of fossils, Cuvier noticed several gaps where all evidence of life would disappear and then abruptly
reappear again after a notable amount of time. Cuvier recognized these gaps in the fossil succession as mass
extinction events.
 This led Cuvier to develop a theory called catastrophism. Catastrophism states that natural history has been
punctuated by catastrophic events that altered that way life developed and rocks were deposited.
 In geology, gradualism is a theory developed by James Hutton according to which profound changes to the
Earth
 This theory inspired an evolution theory in paleontology, also called gradualism, according to which the species
appeared by the gradual transformation of ancestral species.
 According to this theory, the population of a species is transformed slowly and progressively into a new species
by the accumulation of micro-evolutionary changes in the genetic heritage.
 The law of use and disuse, which states that when certain organs become specially developed as a result of
some environmental need, then that state of development is hereditary and can be passed on to progeny.
Evolution of Darwin’s Theory

It took Darwin years to form his theory of evolution by natural selection. His reasoning went like this:
1. Like Lamarck, Darwin assumed that species can change over time. The fossils he found helped
convince him of that.
2. From Lyell, Darwin saw that Earth and its life were very old. Thus, there had been enough time for
evolution to produce the great diversity of life Darwin had observed.
3. From Malthus, Darwin knew that populations could grow faster than their resources. This
“overproduction of offspring” led to a “struggle for existence,” in Darwin’s words.
4. From artificial selection, Darwin knew that some offspring have variations that occur by chance, and
that can be inherited. In nature, offspring with certain variations might be more likely to survive the “struggle
for existence” and reproduce. If so, they would pass their favorable variations to their offspring.
5. Darwin coined the term fitness to refer to an organism’s relative ability to survive and produce
fertile offspring. Nature selects the variations that are most useful. Therefore, he called this type of selection
natural selection.
6. Darwin knew artificial selection could change domestic species over time. He inferred that natural
selection could also change species over time. In fact, he thought that if a species changed enough, it might
evolve into a new species.