What is the evidence for evolution?

by graceeatsgrapes (student)

In 1800’s Darwin came up with his theory of natural selection. Natural selection is when desired characteristics were passed on the future generations naturally, through their genes. Any variation that improves the animal’s ability to survive and reproduce will tend to be passed on to the next generation. Some evidence that Dawin used to support his theory was the fossils of animals that showed how they had evolved over a period of time. The fossils can be dated by looking at the rock they were found inside and finding the age.

He also used the Galapagos finches, when he went to South America to study these finches he saw how they had evolved. Darwin noticed that some of the finch’s beaks had adapted so they could eat large seeds, however some had parrot-like beaks for feeding on fruits, and others had slender beaks for feeding on small insects. Soon Darwin spotted that the different finches looked like they were similar to original finch and He then became aware of the fact that the finches had descended from them.

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Darwin’s theory was not accepted at the time because it disagreed with the religious view, that god made everything. People still believed that everyone descended from Adam and Eve. At the time Darwin didn’t have enough evidence to convince the other scientists of his time. Although later on more proof has been found to support Darwin theory of natural selection, firstly there are the peppered moths.

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Before the industrial revolution the peppered moths were pale with black specks, therefore they could camouflage against the birch trees. Moths that were black were quickly found by their predator, and eaten. As a result the pale moths were at an advantage and they were much more likely to survive and reproduce. However during the industrial revolution the soot blackened the birch trees, highlighting the pale moths and now camouflaging the black ones. Gradually the population of black peppered moths has grew because of the advantage.

Secondly the giraffes were in competition with other animals for food. Shorter animals ate the food at the bottom of the tree; consequently the giraffes with longer necks could reach to food higher up the trees. Eventually the shorter giraffes died off and the giraffe offspring was genetically modified to have long necks.

However Darwin wasn’t the only person to come up with a theory for evolution. In the early 19th century a French scientist name Lamarck developed a different theory involving an animal using a certain characteristic over and over again resulting in that characteristic getting bigger and stronger. Lamarck also stated that a characteristic that is not used will eventually disappear.

For example, the difference between these two theories is that Lamarck believed the giraffes neck got longer due to using is a lot, on the other hand Darwin believed that giraffes that originally had long necks were more likely to get food, therefore less likely to become extinct. We know Lamarck’s theory is wrong because An organism's behaviour has no effect on its inheritable characteristics.

i think that new evidence will continue to support Darwin’s theory of natural selection because the environment will continue to evolve, therefore organisms will adapt to the altered environment.