Evolution and Charles Darwin´s Natural Selection

Evolution is a very hot topic, causing lots of controversy for almost 200 years. It is the belief that creatures have changed and adapted to their environments over time, and that the Earth is more than 6,000 years old. It is shown to be true using radiometric dating, showing some things to be millions of years old. Another theory contributing to some of this is the theory uniformitarianism. This shows rock layers that are more than 6,000 years old, built on top of each other, showing a timeline of rock.

Evolution was understood in layers by various scientists over the years. Some got small pieces of it in their earlier writings, but it was not truly put together until Charles Darwin's "Origin of Species." He got information from a collection of others previous writings, and his own trip to the Galapagos Islands, where he observed various differences among a species to adapt to their environments. According to his research, there were tortoises with elongated necks, that lived in areas with food that was higher in the air then in other places(Darwin). This is what one would take as an example of an adaptation, an adaptation being a feature that allows an organism to better survive in it’s environment.

Darwin’s investigation into evolution began when he trekked to the Galapagos Islands, where he would gather evidence that he would eventually put into his book. While in the Galapagos Islands, he discovered finches with beaks built to break into the specific type of nut that was on their island, with the birds on other islands also having corresponding beaks. He also found the tortoises that were previously mentioned, another key example of the adaptation of animals to their environments. This shows the ability, over ...

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...d as "the rapid evolution of many diverse species from ancestral species" (Nowicki). Punctuated equilibrium causes this, punctuated equilibrium being "bursts of evolutionary activity that are followed by long periods of speciation" (Nowicki). Adaptive radiation happens during these bursts, and that is how many species are connected to a common ancestor with each other.

Overall, evolution is a very broad subject, that is very controversial and causes many problems in the scientific community. What is laid out above is a collection of some of the most important principles of evolution, meant to convey a broader explanation of evolution, so those who may not know much about it, can now understand the basic facts. This is the very basics, so do not believe this is all the information. Use it with caution, because there are always people who know more than you.