BIOLOGY 1B Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte De Buffon, Erasmus Darwin, Gregor Mendel
Document Summary
Was not the first to hypothesize evolution, but first to provide evidence. Physician studies at cambridge, then clergy, then naturalist on hms. Witnessed galapagos endemic species on islands in comparison to on the mainland. Aristotle established that all life was found on a ladder of increasing complexity known as scala naturae (the great chain of being). Carolus linnaeus improved upon that, establishing binomial nomenclature and a nested hierarchy that was non-linear (unlike. Scala), but based his study on pattern of creation, not evolution. Comte de buffon (histoire naturelle) discussed families of similar animals and suggested common ancestor. Erasmus darwin (zoonomia) was grandpa and described common ancestry. Georges cuvier: analyzed strata and saw the older, the more dissimilar. Boundaries represented catostrophes. (upset idea that all species created at once). James hutton and charles lyell (principles of geology): gradual geologic mechanisms. Uniformitarian assumption emerged that processes occurring now must have years ago.
