Bio2

• Evolution


  The process of growth and development or the theory that organisms have grown and developed from past organisms
• Evidence


  Any information so given, whether furnished by witnesses or derived from documents or from any other source. Hearsay evidence is not admitted in a trial.
• Paleontologists


  Discovered many fossils that gave them a picture of the past. Their discoveries made them more interested in the evolution of organisms and their environment.
• John Ray


  Established the modern concept of a species, noting that members of one species do not interbreed with members of another species. First used the term 'species' as the basic unit of taxonomy. Studied fossils and recognized them as remnants of organisms that were once alive.
• Carl Linnaeus


  Developed the modern taxonomic system that is still used today.
• Georges Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon


  Wrote a 36-volume Histoire series. Contributed to the debate on the age of Earth, suggesting that our planet had initially formed in a molten state and that its gradual cooling must have taken far longer than 70,000 years. Considered the role of vestigial organs, creating a possibility of species descending from earlier organisms.
• Erasmus Darwin


  Charles Darwin's grandfather. Aware that the modern organisms are different from the fossils scientists have collected. Believed that the offspring inherited features from their parents, and that the organisms today descended from a common ancestor.
• Georges Cuvier


  Studied and wrote books on comparative anatomy, which were extremely useful in interpreting the remains of fossils. Classified animals based on their body plans, which became important in analyzing relationships among organisms. His studies about fossils contributed and gave rise to the science of paleontology. Recognized that particular groups of fossil organisms were associated with certain rock strata.
• Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

  Proposed the theory of use and disuse, which stated that organisms develop their traits due to the frequent use of such. Also proposed that those traits may be passed on to their offspring. One of the first scientists to recognize that living things have changed over time and that all species descended from other species.
• Theory of use and disuse

  Organisms could alter the size, shape, or structure of particular body parts or organs by continuously using them in new ways.
• Theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics


  Organisms inherited their traits from their parents, and that they may also pass them on to the next generation of offspring. Lamarck's theories of use and disuse and of inheritance of acquired characteristics proved to be incorrect in several ways.
• James Hutton


  Made a significant contribution regarding the understanding of the geological processes that shaped Earth. Recognized that Earth is extremely old (more than millions of years), and that there was no need for global catastrophes to shape the surface of Earth.
• Charles Lyell


  Considered the shaping of Earth's surface as a result of gradual long-term natural changes. Collected many pieces of evidence to support the principle of uniformitarianism and wrote about them in his book 'Principles of Geology', which was also influential to the creation of Charles Darwin's theory.
• Charles Robert Darwin


  Came up with the idea that the best-adapted organisms are those that can survive to breed and pass on their traits to their offspring. Developed his theory of evolution by natural selection as a coherent explanation for the form and distribution of species in different locations. Noted that the characteristics of certain animals vary from one island to another, and that the species present in one location were different from the species found in other locations.
• Alfred Russel Wallace


  Although he made an independent study on the origin of organisms, arrived at the same conclusion as Darwin's: that organisms with favorable traits are those that carry on to the next generation. Contributed to some of the postulates of Darwin's theory of evolution.
• Five Evidences of Evolution

  • Biogeography
  • Fossil record
  • Homology
  • Embryology
  • DNA/Protein sequences
• Biogeography


  The study of the distribution of plants and animals on Earth. The distribution of organisms in an environment can be used as an important tool for explaining evolution.
• Fossil record


  Fossil contains preserved remains or evidence of ancient organisms. Fossil records provide strong evidence of the history of life on Earth. They also show how different groups of organisms have changed over time.