Download What did Darwin discover on his trip to the Galapagos?

Friday, February 1st
Bell Work:
What did Darwin discover on his trip to the Galapagos?
lived and their distribution
Continental Drift Theory
Plate Tectonics
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Pangea
Laurasia and Gondwana
separated
Fossils
evidence
mass
extinction
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The HMS Beagle left England in 1831 to map the coast of South America and the Pacific islands. Charles Darwin came along as a naturalist on the ship. What he saw in South America and the Galapagos gave evidence to support Lyell's view.
Darwin noticed a great amount of variation of traits among similar species.
Variations­ differences in physical traits of an individual from those of other individuals in the group to which it belongs.
What are some variations in humans?
Variations can occur among members of different species or among individuals of the same species.
He noticed the greatest variations among species living on the Galapagos Islands.
Example: Galapagos Tortoises:
One one island they had saddle­back shaped shells and long necks, on those island the plants were taller. On another island the tortoises had domed shells with shorter necks lived in wet areas with lots of mosses and small plants.
What did he observe about the finches and their beaks?
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These differences led Darwin to wonder if species may somehow be able to adapt to their surroundings.
Adaptation­ feature that allows an organism to better survive in its environment.
This can lead to genetic changes in a population OVER TIME!!
He also found fossil evidence that showed species changing over time.
He found a giant armadillo that looked like living species, which suggests modern animals might have a relationship to fossil forms.
Also suggests that Earth was more than 6000 years old.
Darwin also found fossils of marine animals in the Andes mountains. He was even involved in an Earthquake that left dry land where water once was.
Darwin's observations supported Lyell's theory that daily geologic processes can add up to great changes over a long period of time. Darwin then extended his idea of slow, gradual changes to the evolution of species.
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