Darwin's contribution to biology is brief. Charles Darwin contributed to the development of biology?

Today, few will deny Darwin's enormous contribution to biology. The name of this scientist is familiar to every adult person. Many of you can say a few words about Darwin's contribution to biology. However, only a few will be able to tell in detail about the theory he has created. After reading the article you will be able to do it.

The achievements of the ancient Greeks

Before describing Darwin's contribution to biology, we will tell in a few words about the achievements of other scientists on the way to discovering the theory of evolution.

Anaximander, an ancient Greek thinker, back in the 6th century BC. E. Said that man came from animals. His ancestors were allegedly covered with scales and lived in water. A little later, in the 4th century. BC. E., Aristotle noted that useful signs, which are randomly manifested in animals, nature preserves in order to make them in the future more viable. And the brethren, who do not have these signs, are dying. It is known that Aristotle created a "ladder of beings." He arranged the organisms in order from the simplest to the more complex. This ladder began with stones, and ended with a man.

Transformism and Creationism

The Englishman M. Hale in 1677 first used the term "evolution" (from Latin "deployment"). He designated them the unity of the historical and individual development of organisms. In biology, in the 18th century, transformism appeared. This is the doctrine of how different species of plants and animals have changed. It was opposed to creationism, according to which God created the world, and all species remain unchanged. The French scientist Georges Bufffort, as well as the English researcher Erasmus Darwin, are among the supporters of transformism. The first theory of evolution was proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in his 1809 work "Philosophy of Zoology." However, it was precisely Charles Darwin who revealed its true factors. The contribution to the biology of this scientist is invaluable.

Merit of Charles Darwin

He owns an evolutionary theory, scientifically grounded. He outlined it in a work called "The Origin of Species by Natural Selection." This book was published in 1859 by Darwin. The contribution to biology can be briefly described as follows. Darwin believed that the driving forces of evolution - hereditary variability, as well as the struggle for existence. In conditions of struggle, the inevitable result of this variability is natural selection, which represents the predominant survival of the fittest individuals of a particular species. Thanks to their participation in reproduction, useful hereditary changes are accumulated and summarized, as noted by Charles Darwin.

Contributions to biology were recognized by scientists who continued research in this direction. The development of science in the future has confirmed that the Darwinian theory is correct. Therefore today the terms "evolutionary doctrine" and "Darwinism" are often used as synonyms.

So, we briefly described Darwin's contribution to biology. We propose to examine in more detail the theory that he created.

Observations that drove Darwin to the theory of evolution

At first he began to think about the reasons why there are certain similarities and differences between species, Charles Darwin. Contribution to biology, briefly characterized by us, he did not immediately. At first it was necessary to study the achievements of its predecessors, and also to make several trips. They pushed the scientist to important thoughts.

The main find he made in South America, in geological sediments. These are skeletons of giant incomplete teeth, very similar to modern sloths and armadillos. In addition, Darwin was greatly impressed by the study of the species of animals inhabiting the Galapagos Islands. The scientist found on these volcanic islands, having a recent origin, close species of finches that look like the mainland, but adapted to various sources of nutrition - nectar flowers, insects, hard seeds. Charles Darwin concluded that these birds came to the island from the mainland. And the changes that have taken place with them are explained by adaptation to new conditions of existence.

Charles Darwin posed the question that environmental conditions play a certain role in speciation. The scientist observed a similar picture near the coast of Africa. Animals living on the islands of the Cape Verde , despite a certain similarity with the species inhabiting the continent, still differ from them by very significant features.

Darwin could not explain the creation of species and the peculiarities of the development of the tuko-tuko rodent described by him. These rodents live underground, in burrows. They have sighted cubs, which subsequently become blind. All these and many other facts greatly shaken the scientist's belief in the creation of species. Darwin, having returned to England, set himself a large-scale task. He decided to solve the problem of the origin of species.

The main works

Darwin's contribution to the development of biology is presented in several of his works. In 1859, in his work, he summarized the empirical material of breeding practice and biology, modern to him. In addition, he used the results of his observations made during travel. The circumnavigation carried out by him on the Beagle ship shed light on the factors of the evolution of various species.

Charles Darwin supplemented the main work "The Origin of Species ..." with factual materials in his next book, published in 1868. It is known under the name "Change of domestic animals and cultivated plants". In another work, written in 1871 ("The Origin of Man and Sexual Selection"), the scientist put forward the hypothesis that a person comes from an ape-like ancestor. Today, many agree with the hypothesis expressed by Charles Darwin. The contribution to biology allowed him to become a great authority in the scientific world. Many even forget that the origin of man from the monkey is just a hypothesis, which, although very likely, has not yet been fully proved.

The property of heredity and its role in evolution

Note that the basis of the Darwinian theory is the property of heredity, that is, the ability of organisms to repeat types of metabolism and, on the whole, individual development in a series of generations. Together with variability, heredity ensures the diversity and permanence of life forms. It is the basis for the evolution of the entire organic world.

Struggle for existence

"The struggle for existence" is a concept that is one of the basic in the theory of evolution. Charles used it to refer to relationships existing between organisms. In addition, Darwin used it to describe the relationship between abiotic conditions and organisms. Abiotic conditions lead to the survival of the fittest and to the death of less adapted.

Two forms of variability

With regard to variability, Darwin identified two of its main forms. The first of these is a certain variability. It is the ability of all individuals of a particular species to react in the same environment to the given conditions (soil, climate) under certain environmental conditions. The second form is undefined variability. Its nature does not correspond to the observed changes in external conditions. Uncertain variability in modern terminology is called a mutation.

Mutation

Mutation, unlike the first form, has a hereditary character. According to Darwin, in the next generation minor changes are observed, observed in the first. The scientist emphasized that in evolution the decisive role is played by the variability of the uncertain. It is usually associated with harmful mutations or neutral, but there are also those that are called promising.

The Evolution Mechanism

According to Darwin, the inevitable result of hereditary variability and struggle for existence is the survival and reproduction of new organisms that are most adapted to living in an appropriate environment. And in the course of evolution, the death of the unadapted, that is, natural selection , occurs . Its mechanism acts in nature similarly to breeders, that is, indefinite and insignificant individual differences develop, from which the necessary adaptations are then formed in organisms, and also the differences between species.

Charles Darwin wrote and wrote about all this, as well as many other things. The contribution to biology, briefly described, is not limited to what we have told. However, in general terms, his main achievements were characterized. Now you can tell in detail about the contribution Darwin made to biology.