Did Darwin ever observe natural selection in action?

Question

Did Darwin ever observe natural selection in action?

Answer 1

Not in action, but he saw its results.  To see natural selection in action, you need to observe a species with a short lifespan relative to humans, preferably who are undergoing new environmental pressures.  The most famous example is the peppered moth in England: http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/evol/M...  But Darwin died in the 1880s.  Germ theory was just being developed in his lifetime, and he was the one who would influence doctors to watch bacteria evolve, so he probably didn't get to see that, either.

What he did see were species in the Galapagos Islands, particularly bird species, that were related but quite different from one another.  They each were specialized to fit their environment, with different shaped beaks to allow them to access different kinds of food, for instance.  This variation happened within a species, as different types of one kind of bird.  He also saw things like tortoises that were distinct enough you could tell which island they came from, but which were thought to be imported by pirates, who were unlikely to separate such creatures by island.  Darwin was also something of a pigeon fancier, although he denied any special knowledge of the birds (compared to most people, he was an expert in this, though).  His knowledge of pigeon breeding almost certainly influenced the development of his theory, as breeding is just human-controlled evolution.

Answer 2

both yes and no.  natural selection is everywhere.  here's a good example...let's say that you have a bright green parrot and a bright red cardinal.  now let's say that you place them on a plush tropical island that's inhabited by many many panthers.  now, social darwinism would dictate that the panthers are going to survive because they are the stronger of the species.  but the question is, which bird is going to survive also?  the answer is the parrott because it can adapt to its environment easier than the red cardinal, thus it will survive.  the parrott blends in becasue it's the same color as the trees, so the panthers will mor elikely see the red cardinal then the green parrot.  that is an example of natrual selection......

Answer 3

Natural selection can take thousands of years to take effect, so unless he figured out something to keep him around until today I would say he, sadly, did not see this in action.

Answer 4

I doubt it.  It  takes many generations for a particular organism to show evidence of natural selection, plus a little luck in whether an adaptive mutation occurs while you are observing.

To have any hope of observing natural selection, you'd need something with a very big population and very short generations (starts reproducing very quickly).  There would also need to be environmental challenges.

Antibiotic resistent bacteria is a perfect example of natural selection that has occurred over a short time period (observable to us).   The environmental challenge is the antibiotic.  For a long time, it killed them all.  But eventually a few had a lucky mutation that allowed them to survive the antibiotic, and they multiplied.

Answer 5

He DID take several trips to the Galapagos Islands off Equador and watched several generations of birds over a period of years....look it up.

Answer 6

If you are really interested in knowing what Darwin saw, and how he came to his conclusions - read the Origin of Species - but be prepared - it is a long, often boring repetition of observation after observation of the results and process of natural selection - which along with the writings of Thomas Malthus on populations - led Darwin to his conclusions.  

You should know up front - Darwin was well aware of the firestorm his ideas would create - and spent years collecting more and more information and examples and still was not ready to take the leap and publish his results - until he discoverd that another scientist - Alfred Russel Wallace - had reached the same conclusions by doing similar study - only Wallace was not so concerned about he backlash and was going to publish quickly.  Wallace and Darwin eventually collaborated and presented the first paper on Natural Selection together.

Answer 7

natural selection is a process that takes many many years, i doubt it, you can't really observe natural selection

Answer 8

I would say no, he did not.

Answer 9

I personally don't think that anyone could live long enough to see Natrual selection in action

Answer 10

it depends on your definition of "observe". Darwin did not actually see different species die out b/c of a certain trait, but he did notice that some species of the birds on different islands had different characteristics. For example, on an island with many fruit trees, the birds had large, blunt, beaks for breaking nuts and seeds., but in islands were fruits were few, the birds had norrower sharp beaks to dig into places and get bugs, anyone feel free to correct me if i am wrong

Answer 11

Yes.  When he observed his navigator intently reading his manuscript until he walked off the stern.

Answer 12

Of course, that's what the book is about..."The Origin of Species". You see it every year too. When you drive too fast and get a ticket, you change your behavior... daa!