Evolution Theory: Understanding Our Origin

Evolution
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Professor
Course
Date
Evolution
Darwin, Lamarck and Wallace’s Connection
Darwin, Wallace, and Lamarck helped shape the evolution theory, and their studies were crystalized to recent biological research. Their arguments were based on different sets of data collection methods, which were based on their differences. Darwin's works are quoted in many biological studies, and they help develop the field of genetics. In his works, Darwin states that organisms adapted to the environments they lived in for survival. The most adapted organisms were termed to be stronger than the rest, and they lived a long life. He claimed that there is always competition for scarce resources among organisms, and the weakest ones had minimal chances of survival. He studied how body parts adapted to their habitats, and he concluded that a geographical area significantly influenced their physical appearance. No organism can be studied independently because their appearances are inherited. Lamarck specified that organism's physical and biological traits adapted to environments they lived in (Larsen, 2014).
The more an organ was used, the stronger it became, the less it was used, the weaker it became. Regardless of the usage, the traits and appearances were passed to their offspring. However, his main claim was that animals adapted according to their needs. For example, giraffes grew long necks due to their need to feed on higher leaves. Wallace's arguments focused on rebutting Lamarck's claims of organism organ adaptation. He stated that organisms with weaker traits reduced in numbers due to intense competition from the stronger species. While the weaker traits were inherited, the weaker species could not outlive the stronger ones, not because of lack of adaptation but due to competition. This claim was almost similar to Darwin's theory of survival for the fittest, and their observations ratified Lamarck's claims (Larsen, 2014).
Cuvier and Lyell
Charles Lyell was one of the pioneer geologists that struggled to define the essence and independence of geography. As a lawyer, he was intrigued by William Buckland ideology of catastrophism; he studied how nature was shaped through the help of James Hutton. As a Scottish farmer, Hutton developed the theory of Gradual change, which stated that the earth was changing in a gradual process over millions of years. The process was continuous, and it was ...