Big Ideas of Evolution
Evolution, Genetics and Ecology underpin Modern Biology
Understanding life on earth is only possible if we can avoid anthropomorphism and see things as they really are.
Most of my articles are, and will continue to be, about individual species or groups of animals. I try to sketch an accurate picture of the animal and to include one or two interesting or important facts. This looks like a collection of ‘snippets’, but there are common threads that run through all these articles. I think of these as some of the Big Ideas of Biology.
Evolution.
Charles Darwin transformed our view of life on earth with his ideas about how species change over time. He suggested that responses to the environment gradually altered populations of animals in response to changes in their environment. He pointed out that any individual animal that was better adapted to its environment had a better chance of survival and could therefore breed more successfully. He was aware of many examples of selective breeding undertaken by man, and called his ‘Big Idea’ Natural Selection.
Genetics.
Darwin was not aware of the way in which characteristics could be passed from one generation to the next, but after his death the works of Gregor Mendel shed some light in this area, and the later discovery of the role of DNA increased our understanding of the way genes work. This led on to another ‘Big Idea’, first expressed to the public by Richard Dawkins. This was the concept of the Selfish Gene, where evolution is contemplated from the standpoint of genes competing and evolving, rather than individuals within a species.
When Linnaeus set out to describe every animal and give it a Latin name he was working against the backdrop of a fixed number of species that would never change. Now that most biologists think within the paradigms of evolution and genetics the study of taxonomy has been transformed. Biologist now go much further than merely try to describe each species, they try use evidence from DNA to understand how species and groups are related and how they might have evolved. Modern taxonomy attempts to develop a Natural Classification which reflects the ancestry and relatedness of animals.
Ecology.
No species lives in a ‘vacuum’; every living thing is involved with other living things in one way or another. Sometimes it is as simple as the predator/prey relationship, sometimes as complex as the relationship between whole ecosystems and the planet. The Gaia Hypothesis, better described as ‘Earth System Science’, tries to understand the world of living things from this point of view, seeing the whole planet as one huge living thing which not only responds to changes in the environment but goes further to influence conditions in ways that keep life going.
Anthropomorphism.
It is natural for humans to look at things from the human point of view. (See 'Woodlouse Behaviour'). We are designed to be able to understand how another person might feel and we imagine ourselves in their position, assuming that our feelings are the same as theirs. This anthropomorphic view automatically extends to other species, but it is not helpful in trying to understand how things work. For example we consider that micro-organisms cause diseases which can sometimes be carried by disease vectors. (We get malaria – carried by a mosquito, not the other way round.) This does not help understand the three organisms involved in this relationship, so biologists try to avoid Anthropomorphism.
Modern biological thinking relies upon the ideas of evolution, genetics and ecology to make sense of life on earth. (My blog says a little more about these topics.)
Like this? – see what else I have written.
