ology

Chapter 13 Lecture Outline
Introduction Clown, Fool, or Simply Well Adapted? A. Review: Evolution is the central theme of biology. Evolutionary adaptation is a universal characteristic of living things (see Module 1.6). NOTE: More than any other idea in biology, evolutionary theory serves to tie the discipline together. T. Dobzhansky: “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” B. If you look at any organism critically, you are first struck by the differences from other organisms. 1. Further observation often reveals that an organism’s features show some relationship to where the organism lives and what it does in its environment. 2. The blue-footed booby has enormous webbed feet, an oil producing gland that keeps the booby afloat, a nostril that can close under water that prevents water from entering the lungs, a gland that secrets salt from consumed sea water, and a torpedo-like body—all adaptations that make life on the sea feasible.

I. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Module 13.1 A sea voyage helped Darwin frame his theory of evolution. A. Awareness of each organism’s adaptations and how they fit the particular conditions of its environment helps us appreciate the natural world (Figure 13.1A). B. Early Greek philosophers held various views. Anaximander (about 2,500 years ago) suggested that life arose in water and that simpler forms preceded more complex forms of life. On the other hand, Aristotle, who strongly influenced later thinkers, believed that species were fixed and did not evolve. C. This latter view was advanced by the Judeo-Christian tradition that all species were created in a single act of creation about 6,000 years ago. D. From his study with fossils, Buffon (mid-1700s) suggested