Darwin's theory of evolution reference?

Question

i'm doing a thesis on the importance of learning and knowledge for my knowledge management msc.

evolution means mother nature is learning too right. so i want to discuss that in my thesis bringing up darwins theory of evolution..the one where it goes like "if a species cant adopt to its environment it will die" sorta thing..like when u spray stuff on mosquitos the nex generation of mosquitos are immune to it.

as this is a thesis i need to reference it. i still couldnt find a reference where it is explained in simple terms instead of goin to his natural selection theory. if you guys could give me a url where it is explained simply

Answer 1

I don't understand how you can reference Darwin's theory of evolution without referencing natural selection. I don't think you'll find anything like that. Do you understand Darwin's theories?

Answer 2

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/in...

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/

Also, go to YouTube, and look for lectures on evolution by Dan Dennett. He gives some nice, intelligible, basic explanations.

However, I'm not sure what you're intending is wise. "Mother Nature" is NOT a real entity, but a metaphorical expression. Thus, it's not really a clear case of what you're being asked to write about.

Answer 3

Experiments on some Caribbean islands were done to study extinction of species, but the lizards that were supposed to become extinct quickly evolved to fit their environment. I think this will help you.

http://www.dinosauria.com/jdp/evol/lizar...

I can provide other examples of rapid evolution. Respond if I've not provided what you need.

Edit: Speed of evolution is measured in darwins... these lizards evolved at the rate of 2000 darwins... simply amazing.

"Darwin thought that natural selection had to be slow and gradual," Losos said. "I think it is clear he was mistaken. In some cases change can be very rapid."

"The results of the experiment echo observations made in the 1980s of one species of Finch on one Galapagos island. Over a ten year period there were three major swings in the ecosystem of the island. At the start of the observation period, there were two morphs of the Finch, a large beaked morph and a small beaked morph. One change in the ecosystem favored the large beaked morph over the small beaked morph, with the latter nearly becoming extinct. A second change in the ecosystem favored the now nearly extinct small beaked morph, and within a short time it was the dominant morph, with the large beaked morph on its way to extinction. Finally, the ecosystem shifted again, and populations stabilized. Today, a third morph has appeared, with a beak intermediate between the large and small beaked morphs. Over a ten year period, three natural selection events occurred, suggesting that evolutionary change might be more rapid than ever before suspected."

Answer 4

Charles Darwin: Origin of Species...

Look it up at www.ixquick.com