Darwin’s Theory

Darwin’s Theory
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Darwin’s Theory
Charles Robert Darwin was born on 12th February 1809 in Shrewsbury, England. Darwin lived to become one of the most famous biologists and naturalist, mainly, due to his studies and research on the theory of evolution. Through his book, On the Origin of Species, which was published in 1859, Darwin described a new concept of evolution that completely changed people’s understanding of the evolution process through his findings on the theory evolution through the natural selection process. Earlier on, before the publication of Darwin’s theory, biologists and other naturalist believed that all living organisms came into being through creation over the course of history or in other cases they were in existence since the beginning of the world. The previous accounts of the evolution illustrated that living organisms did not experience any changes, modifications or evolving characters throughout their lifetime. Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection differed with these arguments stating that species endured through a process identified as ‘natural selection,’ in this case, living things which evolved successfully to the changing environment of their natural habitat survived. However, for those that failed to adapt and evolve to the changing natural habitat conditions died off (Muni, 2016). This paper will critically explain Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection, explaining the major advances attributed to this theory over the prior ideas as to why organisms changed over time.

Also, it will provide a detailed illustration of the driving forces of evolutionary change as described in Darwin’s illustrations.
According to Darwin’s illustrations, natural selection is a process through which living organisms adapt or evolve to survive in their current environment. Evolutionary change occurs as a result of natural selection whereby individual organisms with certain traits possess a greater chance of survival or reproductive capabilities compared to the other members of the population. After acquiring such characteristics, the individuals pass the new traits to their offspring through the reproductive process. Livings things endure in a continually changing environment of their natural habitat. As these conditions change, it becomes unbearable for some members of the genotype to survive in that environment. As a result, some individuals amongst the population of that particular species develop adaptive characteristics that ensure their survival in the new changing environment of their habitat. When these survival traits are inherited by their offspring, they become more equipped to live and reproduce in the new environment even better than their parents. However, not all members of a specific genotype acquire these characteristics, in this case, such organisms are subjected to the unendurable conditions which eventually result in their extinction from the rest of the population. Darwin’s theory identifies the dissimilarity in reproductive abilities which constitutes the organism’s capacity to endure until their respective propagative period. In general terms, Darwin’s natural selection theory defines a development through which living organisms (plants and animals) obtain specific features which make them more adjusted to the current environment than the other members. These organisms have a better chance of survival, reproduction and population increase than their less adapted colleagues in the environment. Through inheritance, the advantageous characteristics can be passed to the offspring for a better chance of survival and reproduction in the population (Muni, 2016).
Over the years, scientists, biologist, researchers, and naturalists have amassed extensive evidence from the natural environment to support Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selections. Skeletal adaptations, coloration, and physiological modifications are among several ways in which Darwin’s illustrations of evolution can be observed. For instance, giraffes developed long necks to be able to pick food higher up in the trees. As such, the giraffes which did not develop this skeletal modification died off. Coloring adaptations by the peacock and peppered moth have ensured survival in their natural habitat whereas the other members of the group who did not adapt to such changes died more quickly and were unable to reproduce abundantly. The ability of some humans to digest cow’s milk in regions where cattle are not reared due to their lactose intolerance nature represents a physiological adaptation of these individuals to the changing environment.
Antibiotic resistance by bacteria is a clear illustration of the consequences of evolution through Darwin’s natural selection process. In this particular process, bacteria acquire the ability to resist the effects of antibiotics drugs through random mutation attributed to the natural selection process. In Darwin’s arguments, evolution occurs when an organism acquires new traits that promote its survival and increases its reproductive capacity in its natural habitat. Based on this illustration, bacteria have evolved in a way that enables them to survive and continue to reproduce abundantly even in the presence of antibiotics. In a case where a person is unhealthy due to a disease-causing bacterium, antibiotics are administered to kill the bacteria in the person’s body. However, in some cases, bacteria which was once eliminated by a particular antibiotic become resistant to that drug with time. For the first time the drug is administered, most of the bacteria are eliminated. At any instance, the bacteria acquire survival genes through drug resistance capabilities they are capable of withstanding the effects of the antibiotics. As a result, such bacteria can survive in this environment and still reproduce in abundance. In this process, Darwin’s theory of natural selection helps the bacteria to acquire resistant capabilities which promote their survival in the hostile antibiotic environment. Therefore, bacterial antibiotic resistance is a perfect proof of Darwin’s evolution theory in action. It provides a clear understanding of the natural selection process through the acquisition of drug resistance capabilities by bacteria (Allen et al., 2010).
Darwin did not pioneer the concept of evolution, in fact, evolution theories and studies had been described and formulated long before he was born. However, Darwin was the first person to provide a detailed and evidence-based explanation of how the evolution process occurs through the natural selection theory. Darwin’s theory of evolution advanced more than those of his predecessors since his arguments and illustrations were supported by evidence and facts that were missing from the other postulates of evolution. In his illustrations, Darwin demonstrated that life could evolve into complex forms to meet the existing environmental demands through modifications of the internal and external designs of the living organisms. Additionally, there exists scientific evidence that can prove Darwin’s arguments unlike the theories of his predecessors. For instance, scientific knowledge of inheritance of genetic traits from parents to their offspring proves the sexual evolution concept articulated by Darwin in his theory of natural selection. In 1994, the discovery of fossil evidence relating to Abulocetus natans established the familial relationship with modern whales served to appreciate Darwin’s theory of natural selection, unlike other theories which cannot be backed by such fossil evidence. The fossil evidence of this kind ascertains the process of evolution to have occurred in this particular species of whales. The presence of solid evidence supporting Darwin’s of evolution and the natural selection process makes it more advanced than other postulates of the evolution process. The fact that modern technology and recent extensive research on natural history have been able to appreciate Darwin’s theory of natural selection confirms that indeed it is more advanced than the previous theories of evolution.
Mutation, natural selection, gene migration and genetic drift are the major driving forces of the evolution process. Over time, these four processes in the life of living organisms have proved to be the forces behind evolution. First and foremost, mutations refer to random alterations in the genetic code which is hereditary and results in changes in the phenotype of living organisms. Mutation can result in neutral, beneficial or harmful effects on the individual. Although mutation is a significant force of evolutionary process, its rate is relatively low to cause a significant change in the process. However, since evolution is a gradual process which can take very many years, mutation plays a key role in the evolution process. As mentioned earlier, natural selection constitutes a vital process in the evolution process as it promotes the fitness of an individual organism to survive in a particular environment. Gene flow is yet another process that facilitates evolution through the migration of alleles from one population to another via natural mechanisms. With the new population becoming better equipped to endure in the current environment. For the genetic drift, a major force behind the evolution process, allele frequencies changes of a population are attributed to chance which occurs in small populations. In this case, evolution process occurs as a result of a genetic shift.
References
Allen, H. K., Donato, J., Wang, H. H., Cloud-Hansen, K. A., Davies, J., & Handelsman, J. (2010). Call of the wild: antibiotic resistance genes in natural environments. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 8(4), 251.
Muni, B. V. Darwin’s theory of evolution.