Support for Evolution

There are 4 main types of evidence that supports the theory of evolution:

1. Biochemistry2. Comparative Embryology3. Comparative Anatomy4. Fossil Record

Biochemistry

The genetic code is identical for nearly all species.

Comparative Embryology Comparative

embryology is the comparison of different animals in various stages of embryonic development.

Comparative biology has proven, as you can see in the image, that many animal species, including humans, look very similar in our early and middle stages of embryonic development.

Comparative Anatomy

1. Homologous Structures2. Analogous Structures3. Vestigial Structures

Homologous Structures

•Structures that are similar in anatomical structure

•May or may not have same function

Analogous Structures• Structures that look

similar, but are anatomically different

• Often have the same function

Vestigial Structures

Structures that were once useful, but serve no purpose in modern day organisms

http://www.livescience.com/animals/top10_vestigial_organs.html

The Fossil Record

Example of Natural Selection

Darwin studied 13 species of finches on the Galapagos Islands.

The beak was the distinguishing characteristic. The shape/size of the beak was determined by the food the species of finch ate.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/

darwin/origin/index.html

Another Example of NSThe peppered moth

comes in 2 forms – light and dark.

During the Industrial Revolution, soot and other industrial wastes darkened tree trunks and killed off lichens. The light-colored morph of the moth became rare and the dark morph became abundant.