Download Evidence for NS

Support for Evolution
 There are 4 main types of evidence that supports the
theory of evolution:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Biochemistry
Comparative Embryology
Comparative Anatomy
Fossil Record
Biochemistry
 The genetic
code is identical
for nearly all
species.
Comparative Embryology
 Comparative
embryology is the
comparison of
different animals in
various stages of
embryonic
development.
 Comparative
biology has proven,
as you can see in
the image, that
many animal
species, including
humans, look very
similar in our early
and middle stages
of embryonic
development.
Comparative Anatomy
Homologous Structures
2. Analogous Structures
3. Vestigial Structures
1.
Homologous
Structures
•Structures that are
similar in
anatomical
structure
•May or may not
have same function
Analogous Structures
• Structures that look
similar, but are
anatomically different
• Often have the same
function
Vestigial Structures
 Structures that were once useful, but serve no
purpose in modern day organisms
 http://www.livescience.com/animals/top10_vest
igial_organs.html
The Fossil Record
Example of Natural Selection
 Darwin studied 13
species of finches on the
Galapagos Islands.
 The beak was the
distinguishing
characteristic. The
shape/size of the beak
was determined by the
food the species of finch
ate.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/dar
win/origin/index.html
Another Example of NS
 The peppered moth
comes in 2 forms – light
and dark.
 During the Industrial
Revolution, soot and
other industrial wastes
darkened tree trunks and
killed off lichens. The
light-colored morph of
the moth became rare
and the dark morph
became abundant.