Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the life of Charles Darwin, focusing primarily on the events that influenced his theory of natural selection. The paper discusses how his arrival in South America, virtually unknown and unexplored at the time, opened his eyes to various natural occurrences that led to his theory of natural selection.

From the Paper:

"Darwin also observed that a woodpecker is different from other birds due to its claws being directed backward which helps it to maintain a firm grasp on a tree limb; its stiff tail feathers aids in this support while its stout beak allows for holes to be drilled into the tree bark; its long tongue helps the bird to extract insects from these holes. Thus, the woodpecker must have evolved these adaptations via the process of natural selection, a term which Charles Adami defines as "the process which results in the survival of individuals or groups best adjusted to the conditions under which they live and for the perpetuation of desirable genetic qualities and the elimination of undesirable traits via mutation" (4464).
While Darwin was considering exactly how evolution might have come about, he noticed that some species are better adapted than their counterparts to living in a specific environment and thus are more likely to cultivate more descendants while the less well-adapted species may become lessened or even extinct. Obviously, this thought prompted Darwin to fully grasp his idea of natural selection, even before he understood how it functioned in nature. As Thomas Huxley once remarked, "How extremely stupid it was for my colleagues not to have thought of it earlier" (Barlow, 178)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adami, Charles. "The Evolution of Biological Complexity." Proceedings of the NationalAcademy of Science. Vol. 97 (2000): 4463-4468.
• Barlow, Nora, Ed. The Autobiography of Charles Darwin. London: Collins Publishing, Ltd.,1958.
• White, Michael and John Gribbin. Darwin: A Life in Science. New York: Dutton/Penguin, 1995.

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• Essay # 7351 : "Charles Darwin: Process of Natural Selection"

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