How Did Darwin's Encounter During The Voyage

Darwin’s encounters during the Voyage

On December 27, 1831, the H. M. S. Beagle left Plymouth Harbor to survey the coast of South America with Charles Darwin as their naturalist.

It was on their stop at the island of Santiago that Darwin made his first observation of an organism on this journey. He observed cuttle-fish that could change their color at will. He also observed a layer of sea shells that were forty-five feet above sea level

Darwin later made his second relevant discovery at Falkland Island. Darwin spent his time there collecting fossils. Darwin noticed how different the fossils on the island were from those he found on the coast of South America. During his stay, he decided to do comparative studies between all the fossils,

plants and animals he collected so far during the voyage. His discoveries later influenced his view on the adaptation of similar organisms to different environments.

While on his journey, Darwin spent time thinking about how species in South America were similar to those in Europe. He found it odd that within different environments there existed the same types of animals.

Although Darwin had numerous encounters during his exploration, his most relevant and well known discoveries are those he made at the Galapagos Islands.

On the islands there were tortoises, which despite all being tortoises, had different traits that allowed them to survive the climate on the island they lived. Darwin was told that people can tell which island the turtles came from just by looking at their shells. Darwin at first didn’t realize the importance of this but later on he discovers that they had different traits because they adapted to the conditions by means of natural selection.