Today, few will deny the enormous contributionDarwin's biology. The name of this scientist is familiar to every adult. Many of you can briefly say what Darwin’s contribution to biology is. However, only a few will be able to tell in detail about the theory created by him. After reading the article you will be able to do it.
The achievements of the ancient Greeks
Before describing Darwin's contribution to biology, let us describe in a few words about the achievements of other scientists on the way to the discovery of the theory of evolution.
Anaximander, ancient Greek thinker, still in 6century bc e. said that man was descended from animals. His ancestors were allegedly covered with scales and lived in water. A little later, in the 4th c. BC e., Aristotle noted that nature retains useful signs that appear randomly in animals in order to make them more viable in the future. And fellows who do not have these signs die. It is known that Aristotle created the "ladder of beings". He arranged the organisms in order from the most simple to more complex. This staircase began with stones, and ended with a man.
Transformationism and creationism
Englishman M.Hale in 1677 first used the term "evolution" (from Lat. "Deployment"). He marked the unity of the historical and individual development of organisms. Transformationism appeared in biology in the 18th century. This is a study of how various types of plants and animals have changed. It was contrasted with creationism, according to which God created the world, and all species remain unchanged. Transformationist supporters include French scientist Georges Buffort, as well as English researcher Erasmus Darwin. The first theory of evolution was proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in his 1809 work, The Philosophy of Zoology. However, it was Charles Darwin who revealed its true factors. The contribution to the biology of this scientist is invaluable.
The Merit of Charles Darwin
He owns an evolutionary theory, reasonablescientifically. He described it in a work entitled "The Origin of Species by Natural Selection". This book was published in 1859 by Darwin. The contribution to biology can be briefly described as follows. Darwin believed that the driving forces of evolution - hereditary variability, as well as the struggle for existence. Under the conditions of struggle, the inevitable result of this variability becomes natural selection, which represents the preferential survival of the fittest individuals of a particular species. Thanks to their participation in breeding, beneficial hereditary changes accumulate and add up, as Charles Darwin noted.
A contribution to biology has been recognized by scientistscontinued research in this direction. The development of science further confirmed that the Darwinian theory is correct. Therefore, today the terms "evolutionary teaching" and "Darwinism" are often used as synonyms.
So, we briefly described Darwin's contribution to biology. We propose to consider in more detail the theory created by him.
Observations that prompted Darwin to the theory of evolution
At first I began to think about the reasons whybetween species there are some similarities and differences, Charles Darwin. The contribution to biology, briefly described by us, he made not immediately. At first it was necessary to study the achievements of predecessors, as well as make several trips. They prompted the scientist to important thoughts.
The main find he made in South America, ingeological sediments. These are the skeletons of giant half-toothed teeth, very similar to modern sloths and armadillos. In addition, Darwin was impressed by the study of the animal species found in the Galapagos Islands. The scientist found on these volcanic islands of recent origin, closely related species of finches, which are similar to the mainland, but have adapted to various sources of food - nectar of flowers, insects, hard seeds. Charles Darwin concluded that these birds came to the island from the mainland. And the changes that have occurred to them are explained by the adaptation to the new conditions of existence.
Charles Darwin raised the question thatenvironmental conditions play a certain role. The scientist observed a similar picture off the coast of Africa. The animals that inhabit the Cape Verde Islands, despite a certain similarity with the species inhabiting the continent, still differ from them by very significant features.
Дарвин не мог объяснить сотворением видов и features of the development of rodents tuko-tuko, described by him. These rodents live underground in burrows. They have sighted cubs who later become blind. All of these and many other facts greatly shaken the scientist’s belief in the creation of species. Darwin, returning to England, set himself an ambitious task. He decided to solve the question of the origin of the species.
Major works
Darwin's contribution to the development of biology is presented inseveral of his works. In 1859, in his work, he summarized the empirical material of breeding practice and biology, modern to him. In addition, he used the results of his observations made during travels. The round-the-world voyage, perfect for them on the ship "Beagle", shed light on the evolutionary factors of various species.
Чарльз Дарвин дополнил основной труд "The Origin of Species ..." by factual materials in its next book, published in 1868. It is known as "Changing domestic animals and cultivated plants". In another work written in 1871 ("The Origin of Man and Sexual Selection"), the scientist hypothesized that man descended from a monkey-like ancestor. Today, many agree with the suggestion made by Charles Darwin. A contribution to biology has allowed him to become a great authority in the scientific world. Many even forget that man’s descent from a monkey is only a hypothesis, which, although very likely, is still not fully proven.
The property of heredity and its role in evolution
Note that the basis of Darwinian theory isproperty of heredity, that is, the ability of organisms to repeat the types of metabolism and in general, individual development in a series of generations. Together with the variability of heredity provides diversity and constancy of life forms. It is the basis of the evolution of the entire organic world.
Struggle for existence
"Struggle for Existence" is a concept thatis one of the main in the theory of evolution. Charles used it to denote relationships between organisms. In addition, Darwin used it to describe the relationship between abiotic conditions and organisms. Abiotic conditions lead to the survival of the fittest individuals and the death of the less fit.
Two forms of variation
Regarding variability, Darwin identified twoits main forms. The first of them is a certain variability. It is the ability of all individuals of a species in certain environmental conditions to react in the same way to these conditions (soil, climate). The second form is indefinite variability. Her character does not correspond to the observed changes in external conditions. Uncertain variability in modern terminology is called a mutation.
Mutation
Мутация, в отличие от первой формы, имеет hereditary character. According to Darwin, in subsequent generations the insignificant changes observed in the first are amplified. The scientist emphasized that uncertainty plays a decisive role in evolution. It is usually associated with harmful mutations or neutral, but there are also those that are called promising.
Evolutionary mechanism
According to Darwin, the inevitable result of hereditaryvariability and the struggle for existence is the survival and reproduction of new organisms that are most adapted to living in an appropriate environment. And in the course of evolution, the death of the unadapted occurs, that is, natural selection. Its mechanism operates in nature similarly to breeders, that is, there are uncertain and insignificant individual differences, from which the necessary adaptations in organisms, as well as differences between species, are then formed.
About all this, as well as many other things said andwrote Charles Darwin. The contribution to biology, briefly described, is not limited to what we have described. However, its main achievements were described in general terms. Now you can tell in detail about how Darwin made a contribution to biology.
