Dawkins Theory Of Evolution Supported By Natural Selection

Dawkins’ statement about how the ‘theory’ of evolution is actually a fact is supported by natural selection. Natural Selection is the process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. Natural selection leads to evolutionary change when individuals with certain characteristics have a greater survival or reproductive rate than other individuals in a populations and pass on these inheritable genetic characteristics to their offspring. It is observed that places that are isolated from other places have species that are very different from other places. For example, Australia has hundreds of species that are found nowhere else in the world. The peppered moth lives in England and changes in the

Homologous structures are features of organisms that are controlled by some of the same inherited genes. Many species have features that are structurally very similar for example, the pentadactyl limb with five digits, and characteristic of tetrapod vertebrates. The five fingered limbs are functionally different as they are under the same inherited genes. This suggests that organisms with homologous structures, such as the pentadactyl limb have common ancestors and have and evolved.

An example is the homologous structure of a human, act, whale and bat. These species show the same skeletal elements in the radius, ulna and humerus as they share a common origin. However these skeletal elements have been modifies over time to suit the different functions to suit the type of mammal. Scientists say that the similarities in Homologous Structures are evidence that life on earth share a common ancient ancestor from which many or all other species have evolved over time. These examples support Dawkins’ theory of evolution because of how homologous structures are controlled by some of the same inherited

Fossil records show that organisms that lived in the past are different from organisms that live today. This suggests that the organisms have changed or evolved. This supports that evolution is a fact because most evidence for evolution comes from the fossil record, they show how much or how little organisms have changed over time. An example that supports this is that about how whales once walked on land but changed and is a different organism that lives today. Fossil evidence showed that the earliest relatives of enormous whales like humpbacks were comparatively small land animals. Discovered in Pakistan, Pakicetus lived 50 million years ago. They primarily lived their life on land, it is linked as a whale relative through its unique inner ear shape. Another relative of the whale is the Basilosaurids, they lived around 40 million years ago and where the first known obligate aquatic whale, indicating when whales made their permanent transition to the ocean. Another example of how evolution is supported by fossil evidence is because of the animal Tiktaalik Roseae, this is an example of a fossil that transitioned from a vertebrate life from land to water. It was discovered in Nunavut in 2004 and it is an ancient fish called sarcopteryigian. Although they have many similarities to fish with gills, scales and fins, other key characteristics link the Tiktaalik Roseae to land