FormingaTheory
Darwinbegantorealizetheeffectofthebirds’isolationontheislands.Itmayhaveresultedinspecial adaptation.Thesechangeshappenedslowlyovertimeuntilnewspecieswere formed.
Darwinwasn’ttheonlyscientisttobevoicingthistheory.Severalnaturalistshadalreadydevelopedthisideabytheendofthe18thcentury.Darwin’sgreatcontributiontosciencewasthathewasabletoexplainhow andwhy evolution occurred.
largeground finch
Españolacactus finch
In1859,Darwinpublishedabook,OntheOriginofSpecies.Init,heproposedthatspecies evolve.Hesaidthatalllivingthingscantracetheirdescentbacktoacommon ancestor.
Darwinalsosuggestedameansbywhichweevolve: naturalselection.Thissaysthatsomeplantsandanimalshavetraitsthatworkbestinaparticularplace.Theselivingthingsaretheonesthatwillsurviveand reproduce.
Overtime,apopulationchanges,orevolves,tobetterfitwhereitis.Withenoughtime,however,awholenewspeciescanemerge.Darwin’sthinkingcontributedtosignificantchangesinhowpeoplesawthenaturalworld.Hiscontributionstosciencewillalwaysbe remembered.
