Week7 Charles Robert Darwin

Hello, everyone.
In this week, I will introduce Charles Robert Darwin, a scientist, who is related to the Galapagos Islands very much.





First, I will talk about Charles Robert Darwin himself. Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) is a British physical philosopher. He is a wonderful geologist and biologist. He thank that all the living things have a common ancestor and they have evolved based on the process which he called natural selection. The fact of evolution was accepted in scientific circles and the general public during his subsistence. On the other hand, it is the 1930s that it came to be considered that the theory of natural selection is the prime mover of evolution, and the theory of natural selection is one of the bases of evolutionary biology even now. Although he tends to be considered to be a biologist, the society considers him to be a geologist. His work in 1859 "The Origin of Species" established the theory of evolution.




Next, I will introduce his work. The "The Origin of Species" is the writing about the theory of evolution published by Charles Robert Darwin on November 24, 1859. He claimed that a living thing changes so that it may always be adapted for environment. He also claimed that a seed branched and various kinds arose from it. And this process was explained using some phrases. A struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest, for example. Natural selection is the mechanism that an advantageous individual survives because a difference is in the capability to leave a child to the next generation by the difference in character. He hardly explained how each kind would be born against its name, "The Origin of Species". He could not able to explain the structure of variation or heredity well because it was known about neither DNA nor the laws of heredity those days. This book is written readable for non-specialists, and attracted many interests. Because biology of those days was religious, it caused religious war.




Finally, I will talk about the relation between Charles Robert Darwin and the Galapagos Islands. Charles Robert Darwin boarded the surveying ship "HMS Beagle", and visited to the Galapagos Islands. Darwin stayed there in the second half of a voyage from September 15, 1835 to October 20, 1835. The HMS Beagle did geography investigation of islands precisely in the meantime. Record of those days can be read in his "Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle round the World." The fauna observed in the Galapagos Islands became a hint of the theory of evolution with experience of investigation in South America. He said that the animals and plants in the Galapagos Islands likes in South America as a strong resemblance thing in the voyage. The research institute "Charles Darwin Research Station" was established there in 1964 and it is conducting protection and investigation of wildlife.




That’s all in this week.
Next week, I will talk about Darwin’s Finches. They have different beak according to their food.
Thank you for your reading. See you next week.