Charles Darwin : Naturalist and father of evolution
|
Dr N Munal Meitei
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." - Charles Darwin
Darwin Day is celebrated on the birthday of Charles Darwin on 12 February 1809 in England. The day is used to highlight Darwin's contributions to Science and Environment to revolutionize our understanding of the natural world, introducing the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Darwin showed an early passion for collecting plants and insects, which later developed into a career in natural history. As a naturalist, Darwin spent many years in traveling the world, collecting diverse specimens of plants, animals, fossils, rocks and making meticulous observations in South America and the Galápagos Islands.
Back in England, by analyzing his findings, he developed the theory of natural selection-the idea that individuals with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. He published “On the Origin of Species” in 1859, providing evidence for evolution. Later, “The Descent of Man” in 1871 suggested humans evolved from earlier ancestors. Darwin passed away in 1882 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Darwin viewed the environment not just as a backdrop, but as an active agent driving the evolution of species. He described a natural community as a "tangled bank," where all organisms are in a constant, fierce struggle for existence, feeding on or competing with one another. He used this term to describe the interactions between living orga- nisms and their environment, a foundational con- cept for modern ecology.
Darwin hypothesized that species adapt to environmental shifts over time, a slow process he called natural selection. While often focusing on biological interactions, Darwin acknow- ledged that in extreme environments-like deserts or high mountains-the struggle for life is primarily with the "elements".
Darwin's work revealed that species and their environments are intimately connected and co-evolve. He explained that the vast diversity of life results from natural selection favoring favorable variations over generations. He replaced the notion of a static nature with a view of a "historical" planet, where the present is the result of long-term, slow changes. Today, his insights are fundamental to understand biodiversity loss, climate change impacts and the need for ecological conservation.
Darwin's legacy is deeply interconnected to the understanding of life and Earth. Darwin taught us that interconnectivity is everything. When we alter the environment, we aren't just changing the scenery; we are changing the "rules of the game" for every living organism. If the environment changes faster than a species can adapt, that species disappears.
Perhaps the greatest impact Darwin had on our worldview was moving humans from the "center" of the universe to a branch on the tree of life. He showed that we are subject to the same biological laws as the smallest moss or the largest whale. Charles Darwin also studied the relationship between living and extinct animals and found that these living animals share similar traits.
As per Charles Darwin’s theory, all organisms had one common ancestor at some point in time and kept on diverging ever since. Darwin’s idea of natural selection states, species keep on evolving or changing with time. As the environment changes, the requirements of an organism also change and they adapt to the new environment and only the upper changes are naturally selected and therefore the lower ones are eliminated. Thus, a progressive evolution cannot be expected from all the adaptations.
(To be contd)
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change." - Charles Darwin
Darwin Day is celebrated on the birthday of Charles Darwin on 12 February 1809 in England. The day is used to highlight Darwin's contributions to Science and Environment to revolutionize our understanding of the natural world, introducing the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Darwin showed an early passion for collecting plants and insects, which later developed into a career in natural history. As a naturalist, Darwin spent many years in traveling the world, collecting diverse specimens of plants, animals, fossils, rocks and making meticulous observations in South America and the Galápagos Islands.
Back in England, by analyzing his findings, he developed the theory of natural selection-the idea that individuals with traits better suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. He published “On the Origin of Species” in 1859, providing evidence for evolution. Later, “The Descent of Man” in 1871 suggested humans evolved from earlier ancestors. Darwin passed away in 1882 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Darwin viewed the environment not just as a backdrop, but as an active agent driving the evolution of species. He described a natural community as a "tangled bank," where all organisms are in a constant, fierce struggle for existence, feeding on or competing with one another. He used this term to describe the interactions between living orga- nisms and their environment, a foundational con- cept for modern ecology.
Darwin hypothesized that species adapt to environmental shifts over time, a slow process he called natural selection. While often focusing on biological interactions, Darwin acknow- ledged that in extreme environments-like deserts or high mountains-the struggle for life is primarily with the "elements".
Darwin's work revealed that species and their environments are intimately connected and co-evolve. He explained that the vast diversity of life results from natural selection favoring favorable variations over generations. He replaced the notion of a static nature with a view of a "historical" planet, where the present is the result of long-term, slow changes. Today, his insights are fundamental to understand biodiversity loss, climate change impacts and the need for ecological conservation.
Darwin's legacy is deeply interconnected to the understanding of life and Earth. Darwin taught us that interconnectivity is everything. When we alter the environment, we aren't just changing the scenery; we are changing the "rules of the game" for every living organism. If the environment changes faster than a species can adapt, that species disappears.
Perhaps the greatest impact Darwin had on our worldview was moving humans from the "center" of the universe to a branch on the tree of life. He showed that we are subject to the same biological laws as the smallest moss or the largest whale. Charles Darwin also studied the relationship between living and extinct animals and found that these living animals share similar traits.
As per Charles Darwin’s theory, all organisms had one common ancestor at some point in time and kept on diverging ever since. Darwin’s idea of natural selection states, species keep on evolving or changing with time. As the environment changes, the requirements of an organism also change and they adapt to the new environment and only the upper changes are naturally selected and therefore the lower ones are eliminated. Thus, a progressive evolution cannot be expected from all the adaptations.
(To be contd)