CHARLES DARWIN AND THE THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Charles Darwin arrived in the Galapagos after spending 5 years surveying the coast of South America aboard the HMS Beagle. As the ships naturalist he spent the journey observing the many varieties of plants and animals he saw around the world. Yet it was the 5 weeks he spent in Galapagos and what he found there that helped him make formulate an astonishing theory that would revolutionize the way we view the world.

I have not as yet noticed by far the most remarkable feature in the natural history of this archipelago; it is, that the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings. My attention was first called to this fact by the Vice-Governor, Mr. Lawson, declaring that the tortoises differed from the different islands, and that he could with certainty tell from which island any one was brought. I did not for some time pay sufficient attention to this statement, and I had already mingled together the collections from two of the islands. I never dreamed that islands, about fifty or sixty miles apart, and most of them in sight of each other, formed of precisely the same rocks, placed under a quite similar climate, rising to a nearly equal height, would have been differently tenanted; but we shall soon see that this is the case. It is the fate of most voyagers, no sooner to discover what is most interesting in any locality, than they are hurried from it; but I ought, perhaps, to be thankful that I obtained sufficient materials to establish this most remarkable fact in the distribution of organic beings.

The Galapagos Islands provided many examples of adaptation for Charles. Possibly the best known of these examples are the 13 species of finch collectively known as Darwin's Finches. Each originating from a common ancestral species developed its own traits over years in order to compete for survival within its environment.

In the case of Darwin's Finches the birds are similar in appearance yet the scarcity of food required that they adapt in order to survive. Over thousands of years each species sought food from a different source and the finch's beaks evolved in order to efficiently cope with the variety of food sources. Ground Finch developed large beaks allowing them to crush seeds where the Warbler finch developed a pointed beak for eating insects.

It was while studying the mockingbirds he had collected in the Galapagos on his journey home that Darwin conceived the idea that flora and fauna evolve over time in a process of natural selection. The species to survive would alter based on environmental conditions. He would spend the next 20 years of his life substantiating his theory and writing books about it.

The Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora provides visitors an interpretive display on evolution of life in the Galapagos Islands.

In any population of animals, a relatively large number of young are produced. Since not all survive, a struggle for existence must occur.

Within a population there is much variability. Some differences may confer an advantage in the struggle for existence. Those organisms, which are best adapted to their environment, will survive.

Due to heredity, offspring tend to resemble their parents. Well-adapted organisms tend to have well-adapted offspring. Thus, certain traits become established in the population.

If environmental conditions change, there may be selection for different traits. The variability within a population determines whether it will be able to survive these changes.

Darwin's theory set the world on edge when his book The Origin of Species by Natural Selection was published. His ideas still create conflict with those who believe in Creation rather than Evolution. While traveling through Darwin's Islands visitors have the opportunity to observe the same animals that he did in order to make their own conclusions. The most obvious conclusion is the creatures of the Galapagos having lived years without the threat of predators do not have the natural fear of human that most animals possess. Viewing the wildlife is an easy and fun experience.