Part One:
1. Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802)-
Erasmus Darwin, otherwise known as Charles Darwin’s grandfather, came out to be one of the leading intellectuals of England during the eighteenth century. He was a man with an incomparable array of interests and pursuits. Darwin was a well respected individual, as he was a physician, well-known poet, philosopher, and naturalist. He wrestled with the idea that one species could evolve into another. Darwin also talked about how competition and sexual selection could cause changes in species….the stronger males going to mate up with the stronger females.
2. Jean- Baptiste Lamarck (1749-1829)-
Lamarck’s scientific theories were very much ignored in his life time. His name is now thought of like this, “inheritance of acquired traits.” His theories weren’t really looked at until he was dead….never got any thing out of his research. He also said, “a change in the environment causes changes in the needs of organisms living in that environment, which in turn causes changes in their behavior.”
3. Georges Cuvier (1769-1832)-
He had one of the finest minds in history with out a doubt. It was Cuvier who firmly established the fact of the extinction of past lifeforms. This is a very big thing when it comes to evolution. He founded vertebrate Paleontology.
4. Thomas Malthus (1766-1834)
Malthus was big on natural selection (Darwin got most of his ideas from Malthus). He had three different reasons for the decline of living conditions…..the overproduction of young; the inability of resources to keep up with the rising human population; and the irresponsibility of the lower classes. Malthus thought it would be best for every family just to have one child. Even plants over produced for what they were capable of caring for.
Part 2:
1) What interesting evidence of geological change did Darwin observe while visiting the Galapagos?
-He started observing the finches beaks. Why? Because if the beak changes through out different birds then you know they are having to adapt to their environment, evolution.
2) What did Darwin learn about the Galapagos finches when he returned to England? What vital information had he neglected to record when he collected the?
-The only information Darwin forgot to record was where he picked up the finishes (birds). But he was able to find out that the beak of the finches were changing to be able to fit into their natural habitat better.
3)Describe the distribution pattern of Galapagos mockingbirds. What question did this raise in Darwin’s mind?
-The main question in Darwin’s mind was “what island did each bird come from” sense he didn’t have this information he was missing a very big part in his work. He didn’t even know where to begin when it came to sorting the birds out. Its a bumber he spent a lot of his time with this and just one thing will throw you off.
Biology 