What ideas did Charles Darwin come up with while on his tri
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Charles Darwin is known for his groundbreaking work on evolution and natural selection, which he developed during and after his voyage on the HMS Beagle. Show more…
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Hypothetically, what would Charles Darwin have seen on his voyage on the HMS Beagle in the 1830s, and could it have supported his theory of evolution?
Crystal W.
Both Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace started their scientific careers as naturalists hired on board of ships sailing around South America. Darwin was the first one to go on this long journey. They both had to collect and catalog as many new species of animals, plants, and fossils as possible. After a long five-year voyage, Darwin came back to London with a huge collection of specimens. The first journey for Wallace was not so successful due to illness on the ship. During his journey, Darwin spent almost five weeks on the Galapagos Islands, which at first he called "The Enchanted Isles". The time on the Galapagos Islands gave Darwin important clues for his future theory of natural selection; each island had different species of turtles and mockingbirds. In the years to come, Darwin often thought back to the geology, the fossils, and the animals that he'd seen during his journey. The best explanation for what Darwin saw in the Galápagos was that species changed into new species. Over time, one kind of mockingbird somehow became three. Tortoises multiplied into different forms. In a simple, crude sketch, Darwin drew his radical new picture of life. Any species can give rise to new and slightly different species. At that time, this type of thinking was considered heretical. It ran against church teachings and what most Europeans believed, including most scientists. When Darwin was establishing his position in London as a well-known naturalist and scientist, Wallace set out for another journey. He spent 8 years on the new voyage to the Malay Archipelago in Indonesia. He collected and studied animals as he traveled from island to island in a 14,000-mile journey. Wallace was especially captivated by butterflies. His favorite group is called "birdwings," after their shape and large size. Having explored jungles on opposite sides of the globe, he could compare where different groups of animals lived and asked why they are found where they are. Island by island, Wallace noted two groups of mammals living in the Indonesian region: those with pouches and those without. Animals on the eastern islands resemble those of Australia; animals to the west, those of Asia. It's as if a line splits the archipelago. It will be dubbed "The Wallace Line." Because of his impact on connecting biodiversity with geological localization, Alfred Wallace is considered a father of biogeography. The work of both Darwin and Wallace was influenced by the English economist Thomas Malthus, who noted that human populations are held in check by famine, disease, and death. Without death, any species would quickly overrun Earth. Animal populations tend to hold steady because huge numbers of young die every generation. If individuals have a feature/variation that gives them even a slight edge, they will survive, reproduce, and in time outnumber those without the advantageous feature. Darwin called this process "natural selection". In 1858, both Darwin and Wallace presented this theory together in London. Darwin published his own masterful full-length book in 1859, where he described the process of artificial and natural selection and explained how living organisms could have evolved from other species. The Origin of Species became one of the most influential books ever published. It was an instant sensation that signaled the birth of modern biology. Wallace eventually wrote a book on evolution. He gave it the title Darwinism.
Alexander B.
Trace the intellectual context of Charles Darwin's ideas by answering the questions in the timeline below. The space provided here may not be enough to fit your answers. Feel free to attach a separate sheet when needed.
Sri K.
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