Does the geography of the world affect the way in which species evolve?
Geography and the evolution of species have been closely linked for hundreds of years. Continental drift was the first major event that had a direct effect on the evolution of species. Continental drift affected the evolution of animals through isolated speciation.
The theory of continental drift states that there was one big supercontinent 200 million years ago. This continent was called Pangaea. Pangaea then started to break up into two separate continents. The two continents name was Laurasia and Gondwanaland. These two continents were during the Jurassic period (150 million years ago). These two continents then further broke up to form our continents today. This happened at the end of the Cretaceous period (65 million years ago).
Figure 1.1 showing continental drift.
In 1915 Alfred Wegener who was a German geologist discovered identical fossils of plants and animals on different sides of the Atlantic. This led Wegener to believe that the continents were once connected. After Wegener’s findings scientists showed that plate tectonics caused continental drift which led to evolution of species.
Figure 1.2 showing fossil remains found by Alfred Wegener
Biogeographers were now able to identify that when the continents have a collision species are able to mix and then when the continents then separate they take their species with them. For example Africa, South America, Australia and New Zealand were part of Gondwanaland. Plate tectonics caused the continents to split. A group of species called midges(small insects) show the same pattern. Another example to show that geography effects the evolution of species is the example of the Glossopteris....
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...not a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a testable statement whereas a theory is a general explanation of a natural phenomenon with consistent evidence gained through repeated evidence and from doing many experiments. Evolution is a theory because of all the evidence found through fossils, molecular biology, embryology, physiology, biogeography, homologies etc. Evolution has been thoroughly tested.
My personal opinion is that evolution does exist. I believe that species are constantly evolving into new species and that the geography of the world affects the evolution of species. I do believe that science and faith are in harmony with one another.
There is a lot of evidence to support the theory of evolution and that geography has an effect on the evolution of species. Many scientists have proved that evolution does occur and that species do change over a period of time
The continental drift hypothesis is an example of how a hypothesis is made based on observation. It also shows how contemporaries can reject hypotheses until substantial evidence is found. The continental drift hypothesis was first introduced by Alfred Wegener in 1914. He suggested that at one stage in time, all of the continents were combined together as one, which he named ‘Pangaea’, and they eventually drifted apart to be in the positions they are at today (see figure 1.0 below). This came from the observation that the coastlines of the continents could be combined together to make one, like a jigsaw puzzle, specifically the ‘parallelism of the Atlantic coastlines’ (Skinner, Porter & Botkin pp. 66). Another observation that contributed to the hypothesis is the fact that similar flora and fauna can found on completely different continents, where there was no obvious way for them to travel in between. Wegener proposed that continental drift c...
The formation and breakup of continents, mountains, volcanic activity, changes in climate and sea level affected the course of evolution.. Paleozoic Era was restricted to the oceans. Organisms evolved a lot crating the “Cambrian Explosion”.
...s from the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic periods show proof of how animals have gone through evolution and why certain fossils look very similar. The Law of Original Horizontality and the Law of Superposition both express true when looking at modern rock layers today. The Law of Original Horizontality happens when sediments are constantly deposited over old layers of rock forming new layers over millions of years, while the Law of Superposition is the law that older rock layers lie beneath the newer layers. Also, Pangea and Panthalassa are now the seven continents and four oceans of the world today as a result of Continental Drift. All things considered, Rock layers are therefore evidence of Evolution for, rock layers holds proof of evolving animals seen through fossils, the plates in the earth separated Pangea, and the relation of evolution and rock layers.
There is much evidence of population evolution. Some evidence they found of population evolution are fossils. Fossils are historical records. Over millions of years ago land eroded and was carried away by rivers and ended up in the bottoms of oceans compressing older deposits into the rock. Dead organisms settled along the
One way Alfred Wegener proved his theory of continental drift was through land features. He realized that the coal fields, mountain ranges, and continents matched, and he attempted to put the continents together (like a puzzle). The second way Wegener proved his theory was through fossils. He found three fossils called Glossopteris (a fern like plant), Mesosaurus, and Lystrosaurus. Glossopteris was found in rocks in Africa, South America, Australia, India, and Antarctica, while Mesosaurus and Lystrosaurus were found on continents separated by oceans. Finally, the third way Wegener proved his theory continental drift was through climate zone. Wegener looked at climates from the past, and had found tropical plants living in Spitsbergen (an island in the arctic). He assumed that a island in the arctic, used to have a warm climate. In conclusion, the three ways Wegener proved his theory continental drift was through land features, fossils, and climate
...ution is the correct way to explain the facts of life in the world. For these reasons, the theory of evolution is a prime example of advanced scientific theory that can by no means be equated with pseudoscientific claims that serve nothing but various forms of propaganda.
There are many reasons why people should believe in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. One of the more compelling reasons is the anatomical similarities between different species. Still another reason to accept Darwin’s Theory is the geographic distribution of species, meaning that certain plants and animals have evolved in specific ways to meet the needs of their isolated environments. Another reason to support the theory of evolution is the fossil record of change over time throughout earlier species. Lastly, scientists have recorded genetic changes in a certain species over many generations which support Darwin’s Theory. Those changes indicate that evolution is occurring. For all those reasons, Darwin’s Theory of Evolution makes scientific sense and should be respected.
Evolution on the other hand is a theory that is strictly based on the scientific evidence and ideas that have been found in the universe. Such as fossils or the ‘evolution’ of DNA. “The process of evolution produces a pattern of relationships between species. As linages evolve and split and modifications are inherited, their evolutionary paths diverge,” (“The Family Tree”).
While technology keeps advancing and we create tools to help us research this even more scientists continue to build up evidence that evolution is accruing today. While there is arguments against evolution The genetic evidence for natural selection and mutations of single gene that show some benefit and thereby spread through a population over time is too strong, and it's continuing to get stronger as technology and knowledge increases.
The theory of evolution, as set forth by Charles Darwin in 1859, stated that all plant and animal life evolved over long periods of time from simple to more complicated forms through mutation and adaptation. He also taught that only the fittest of each species would survive. He further postulated that the first living cell evolved in a "warm warm little pond" and that it took billions of years for the present diversity of living things to evolve. At the time, it was thought that the few "missing links" in the fossil record would be soon filled.(Darwin, 1927 ). Today, however, there is today a considerable body of scientific evidence that refutes this entire theory.
Numerous noteworthy changes in the world's geography took place during the Devonian Period. During this period, the world's land was split between two supercontinents, Gondwana and Euramerica (Rice). These vast landmasses sat relatively close to each other in a single hemisphere, while a vast uninterrupted ocean covered the remainder of the globe. These two supercontinents were completely surrounded by numerous subduction zones. The subduction zone between Gondwana and Euramerica set a major collision in motion that would later bring the two continents together to form the massive single continent, Pangaea (Rice).
Evolution is the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth. “Dictionary.com” The first person to supposedly “discover” evolution was Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin was a naturalist. He spent most of his time studying the environment. Most naturalists of his time believed that animals came into existence around the same time the earth did but Darwin believed otherwise. Darwin that believed because the appearance of animals changed depending on their location, they had slowly evolved from other basic animals. He believe that the animals survived due to a process called” natural selection”.
Charles Darwin also showed how new species were created on the acts of evolution. It is easily explained by having big differences from the effect of natural selection, which were considered to be new species. So back in the beginning, before the effects of evolution had occurred there was just one specie, which evolved to make the species that we know today. So somehow all species are somewhat connected. The basis of what Darwin was proving was that life on Earth is simply the result of billions of years of adaptation to the changing environments. That is why certain species can only live in certain climates. This can be explained with the color of your skin, or the growing of plants.
Scientist stigall found that species like to spread out all over the continent so there is a reduce in competition. Then there's a break in the continents and that's what causes speciation. It is leading to speciation because of the limited sources of food in the areas. As time passes the environment changes and so do the species which also leads to speciation.
Geography affected a lot of how cultures developed throughout history, one of the things that started this evolutionary race, was climate. Climate has always been different across the globe because of the tilt of the earth. The tilt of the earth determined the distance and direction of where