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Biology chapter 13 the theory of evolution
Evolution review gene flowwwwwww genetic drift mutations natural selection
Biology chapter 13 the theory of evolution
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Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) was a paleontologist and his technical research was in the field of evolutionary biology. Steven Gould along with Niles Eldredge developed the theory of punctuated equilibrium ("Stephen Jay Gould"). This theory is a revision of Darwinian theory. Darwinian theory suggests that evolution change occurs slowly over time. The theory of punctuated equilibrium speculated that evolutionary changes does not occur slowly, but rather in rapid bursts over short periods of time; short as in: thousands of years; which are then followed by long periods of time where organisms undergo little, to no, further changes. Gould met with a lot of criticism in his career, much like Charles Darwin. Gould was also known for his writings. One compiled book of essays called, “The Panda’s Thumb”; a particular essay called, “Natural Selection and the Human Brain: Darwin vs. Wallace” stuck out to me the most. This is where he suggests, “that dwarf sit atop of the shoulders of giants” (Gould). I believe this to mean that …show more content…
The essay that sticks out the most in my opinion is “Natural Selection and the Human Brain: Darwin vs. Wallace” (Gould). Gould’s idea for this essay in particular was made when he referred to the writings of Robert K. Merton (Gould,47). Gould wrote in reference to Merton and how he perceived his work, “He has shown that almost all major ideas arise more than once, independently and often virtually at the same time-and thus, that great scientist are embedded in their cultures, not divorced from them” (Gould,47). I believe that this means that most major ideas are already being thought about by someone else. This other person looks at the same idea in a different way. When these ideas are brought together much like Darwin and Wallace or Darwin and Gould it can create a beautiful thing, but it can also create opposing views and difference of
Figure 1 indicates that the Giant Panda is considered as a Primary Consumer. The arrows are going in a horizontal order with the arrows pointing towards the apex predator which is the Bengal Tiger. This food chain suggests that the Bengal Tiger is one of the dominant predator of the food chain while the Panda only nourishes on Bamboo. Bamboo is shown as a primary producer because it can make its own food using photosynthesis.
The disaster theory, Gould claims, is an example of good science. It has testable evidence and has an impact on studies in other fields of science, it develops further and explains why the extinction of dinosaurs occurred simultaneously with other events. This theory suggests that a large comet hit the Earth sixty five million years ago, causing the cloud of dust to rise into the sky and to block sunlight. As a result, world temperatures went down significantly, the ice age bega...
Stephen Jay Gould writes as if you were sitting in a chair across from him having an insightful conversation. His essays are written in ways that are down-to-earth, entertaining, and easy to understand. Bits of humor are scattered throughout the book. One passage read, “The history of any one part of the earth, like the life of a soldier, consists of long periods of boredom and short periods of terror.” These little scraps of humor are placed in the just the right locations. After reading one of his essays concerning bipedalism (walking on two feet) I chuckled at the following statement, “It is now two in the morning and I’m finished...
Charles Darwin: He believed that all living species evolved over thousands of years. He wrote the Origin of the Species.
Charles Darwin was an English biologist who, along with a few others, developed a biological concept that has been vulgarized and attacked from the moment his major work, The Origin of Species, was published in 1859. An accurate and brief picture of his contribution to biology is probably his own: Evolution is transmission with adaptation. Darwin saw in his epochal trip aboard the ship The Beagle in the 1830s what many others had seen but did not draw the proper conclusions. In the Galapagos Islands, off South America, Darwin noted that very large tortoises differed slightly from one island to the next. He noted also that finches also differed from one geographical location to the next. Some had shorter beaks, useful for cracking seeds. Some had long, sharp beaks, useful for prying insects out of their hiding places. Some had long tail feathers, others short ones.
He realized that snake embryos had bumps where there should be legs. Which mean they probably evolved from a creature with legs. He noticed that whale embryos had teeth, but adult whales did not have teeth. The most shocking of his embryotic studies involved human embryos. He noted that the human embryos as slits around the neck, the same in fish. The difference is that in fish the develop into gills, and in human the become the bones of the inner ear. This showed that humans must be descended from fish. This led him to the conclusion that all species were somehow connected. He theorized that beginning with a common ancestor, species had changed dramatically over generations. Some species may add new body features, or lose them. He called this descent with
Keith Henson a writer in evolutionary psychology once said that “Evolution acts slowly. Our psychological characteristics today are those that promoted reproductive success in the ancestral environment.” Evolution was first introduced by a naturalist by the name of Charles Darwin. Darwin had written an autobiography, at the age of 50, On the Origin of Species (1859) explaining how species evolve through time by natural selection; this theory became known as Darwinism. “Verlyn Klinkenborg, who writes editorials and vignettes on science and nature for the “New York Times”” (Muller 706) questions Darwin’s theory in one of his essays he wrote called Darwin at 200: The Ongoing Force of His Unconventional Idea. Both articles talk about the theory of Darwinism, but the authors’ use different writing techniques and were written in different time periods. Darwin himself writes to inform us on what the theory is, where as Klinkenborg goes on to explain why Darwinism is just a theory. Today, evolution is still a very controversial topic among many. It comes up in several topics that are discussed everyday such as in politics, religion and education.
The chance for a grown man to act alongside a cohort of children as the aging, homeless matinee idol in David Mamet’s “Revenge of the Space Pandas” does not come along very often. So when that opportunity presented itself to Andrew Biliter, he leaped at the chance.
The impact these men had on religious thought was tremendous. Some of them are the starting points for many of the controversies existing today. Of all the scientists, historians, and philosophers in the nineteenth century, the most influential and controversial was Charles Darwin. Born in 1809, Charles Darwin always had an interest in the nature, so he chose to study botany in college. His strengths in botany led him to become the naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. On a trip to South America, he and the rest of the crew visited the near by Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It was there he noticed many different variations of the same general plants and birdshe saw previously in South America. He also observed ancient fossils of extinct organisms that closely resembled modern organisms. By 1859, all of these observations inspired him to write down his theories. He wanted to explain how evolution had occurred through a process called natural selection. In his published work, On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, or On the Origin of Species for short, Darwin stated that, "new species have come on the stage slowly and at successive intervals."(1) He also said, "old forms are supplanted by new and improved forms," and all organisms play a part in the "struggle for life.
Giant Pandas are a species of bear that are scientifically known as Ailuropoda melanoleuca. This species is very unique within the bear family and happens to also be an endangered species. Characteristics of the Giant panda include what they look like, size, diet, and others that make them a unique species.
Red Pandas are those cute, russet colored, furry animals that are on the endangered species list. They are endangered because of deforestation, destruction of their habitat, so they people try to help, by putting them in captivity. They have an amazing personality in zoos, and on camera, but what are they really like when they are in the wild? They can be extremely confusing if you don’t know about them, but there is many facts out there that can help you get to know them.
In this research paper, I chose the Red Panda to be the organism that I did my research on. The red panda is also known as “Firefox”, “Lesser Panda”, the “Red Cat-Bear” and get its name from the Giant Panda. Red panda is known to be the “lesser panda” because of the size compared to the giant panda. Western scientists first named this organism the “first panda” when it was first seen 50 years earlier. Only a few people have ever heard about the red panda, let alone have seen one. Red pandas are becoming extinct because of the forests becoming smaller and smaller. Since there is rapid deforestation there is less areas for the animals to eats which is leading this animal to be listed being an endangered species.
Charles Darwin in his book, On the Origin of Species, presents us with a theory of natural selection. This theory is his attempt at an explanation on how the world and its' species came to be the way that we know them now. Darwin writes on how through a process of millions of years, through the effects of man and the effects of nature, species have had an ongoing trial and error experiment. It is through these trials that the natural world has developed beneficial anomalies that at times seem too great to be the work of chance.
Aldous Huxley called the essay “a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything.”
My interest in the Giant Panda started when I was six years old, and went to the zoo with my first grade class. I was mesmerized by these beautiful bears with amazing color. The panda bear has black ears, black patches on its eyes, black legs and black arms that stretches across the panda bears back. It might have been their color pattern that I love so much that attracted me to them. I collect small panda bear figures, that I keep on the top shelf in my room. When I was younger I had no idea about the dangers these beautiful creatures would one day be on the endangered species list. As a child I assumed they would always be at the zoo for everyone to see, but I was wrong. The Giant Panda faces many challenges that threaten their existence. One threat is poachers who slaughter the panda bear for their fur. Another reason panda bears are endangered is because of the destruction and degradation of their habitat. The last thing that threatens the existence is the panda bears low reproductive rate. There are several groups working to save the panda bear such as WWF, and the Winton Foundation for the Welfare of Bears. Although the panda bear faces many challenges that threaten their existence, I believe they have a good chance for survival.