An Introduction to Evolution Essay -- Evolution Science Biology Essays

An Introduction to Evolution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Evolution? Evolution is the process by which all living things have developed from primitive organisms through changes occurring over billions of years, a process that includes all animals and plants. Exactly how evolution occurs is still a matter of debate, but there are many different theories and that it occurs is a scientific fact. Biologists agree that all living things come through a long history of changes shaped by physical and chemical processes that are still taking place. It is possible that all organisms can be traced back to the origin of Life from one celled organims. The most direct proof of evolution is the science of Paleontology, or the study of life in the past through fossil remains or impressions, usually in rock. Changes occur in living organisms that serve to increase their adaptability, for survival and reproduction, in changing environments. Evolution apparently has no built-in direction purpose. A given kind of organism may evolve only when it occurs in a variety of forms differing in hereditary traits, that are passed from parent to offspring. By chance, some varieties prove to be ill adapted to their current environment and thus disappear, whereas others prove to be adaptive, and their numbers increase. The elimination of the unfit, or the "survival of the fittest," is known as Natural Selection because it is nature that discards or favors a particular being. Evolution takes place only when natural selection operates on apopulation of organisms containing diverse inheritable forms. HISTORY Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759) was the first to propose a general theory of evolution. He said that hereditary material, consisting of particles, was transmitted from parents to offspring. His opinion of the part played by natural selection had little influence on other naturalists. Until the mid-19th century, naturalists believed that each species was created separately, either through a supreme being or through spontaneous generation the concept that organisms arose fully developed from soil or water. The work of the Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus in advancing the classifying of biological organisms focused attention on the close similarity between certain species. Speculation began as to the existence of a sort of blood relationship between... ...y different. For example, the wing of a bird and the wing of a butterfly are analogous; both are used for flight, but they are entirely different structurally. Analogous structures do not indicate evolutionary relationships.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Closely related fossils preserved in continuous successions of rock strata have allowed evolutionists to trace in detail the evolution of many species as it has occurred over several million years. The ancestry of the horse can be traced through thousands of fossil remains to a small terrier-sized animal with four toes on the front feet and three toes on the hind feet. This ancestor lived in the Eocene Epoch, about 54 million years ago. From fossils in the higher layers of stratified rock, the horse is found to have gradually acquired its modern form by eventually evolving to a one-toed horse almost like modern horses and finally to the modern horse, which dates back about 1 million years. CONCLUSION TO EVOLUTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although we are not totally certain that evolution is how we got the way we are now, it is a strong belief among many people today, and scientist are finding more and more evidence to back up the evolutionary theory. An Introduction to Evolution Essay -- Evolution Science Biology Essays An Introduction to Evolution   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is Evolution? Evolution is the process by which all living things have developed from primitive organisms through changes occurring over billions of years, a process that includes all animals and plants. Exactly how evolution occurs is still a matter of debate, but there are many different theories and that it occurs is a scientific fact. Biologists agree that all living things come through a long history of changes shaped by physical and chemical processes that are still taking place. It is possible that all organisms can be traced back to the origin of Life from one celled organims. The most direct proof of evolution is the science of Paleontology, or the study of life in the past through fossil remains or impressions, usually in rock. Changes occur in living organisms that serve to increase their adaptability, for survival and reproduction, in changing environments. Evolution apparently has no built-in direction purpose. A given kind of organism may evolve only when it occurs in a variety of forms differing in hereditary traits, that are passed from parent to offspring. By chance, some varieties prove to be ill adapted to their current environment and thus disappear, whereas others prove to be adaptive, and their numbers increase. The elimination of the unfit, or the "survival of the fittest," is known as Natural Selection because it is nature that discards or favors a particular being. Evolution takes place only when natural selection operates on apopulation of organisms containing diverse inheritable forms. HISTORY Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (1698-1759) was the first to propose a general theory of evolution. He said that hereditary material, consisting of particles, was transmitted from parents to offspring. His opinion of the part played by natural selection had little influence on other naturalists. Until the mid-19th century, naturalists believed that each species was created separately, either through a supreme being or through spontaneous generation the concept that organisms arose fully developed from soil or water. The work of the Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus in advancing the classifying of biological organisms focused attention on the close similarity between certain species. Speculation began as to the existence of a sort of blood relationship between... ...y different. For example, the wing of a bird and the wing of a butterfly are analogous; both are used for flight, but they are entirely different structurally. Analogous structures do not indicate evolutionary relationships.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Closely related fossils preserved in continuous successions of rock strata have allowed evolutionists to trace in detail the evolution of many species as it has occurred over several million years. The ancestry of the horse can be traced through thousands of fossil remains to a small terrier-sized animal with four toes on the front feet and three toes on the hind feet. This ancestor lived in the Eocene Epoch, about 54 million years ago. From fossils in the higher layers of stratified rock, the horse is found to have gradually acquired its modern form by eventually evolving to a one-toed horse almost like modern horses and finally to the modern horse, which dates back about 1 million years. CONCLUSION TO EVOLUTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although we are not totally certain that evolution is how we got the way we are now, it is a strong belief among many people today, and scientist are finding more and more evidence to back up the evolutionary theory.