Voyage of darwin

Charles Darwin travelled the world on HMS Beagle from 1831-1836. During his journey he made several important observations which shaped his Theory of Natural Selection as a Mechanism for evolution of species.

1. VOYAGE OF DARWIN Presentation by RUCHIRA AGARWAL BSc. (H) ZOOLOGY (3rd Year)

2. Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England on February 12, 1809 A keen observer from young age, Darwin loved to read books on fishing, hunting and collecting insects. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University but later switched to divinity at Cambridge. ABOUT CHARLES DARWIN

3. At Cambridge, Darwin became favourite of botany professor, John Henslow , who paved his way for voyage on HMS Beagle as a naturalist. In December 1831, at the young age of 22, Darwin got an opportunity to travel by HMS Beagle for a voyage of world exploration, planned by British Admirality .

4. The vessel was commanded by British naval officer Robert Fitzroy and carried a crew on a survey mission that circumnavigated the world between 1831 and 1836 . HMS BEAGLE

5. While the survey work was carried out, Darwin travelled and researched geology , natural history and ethnology onshore .

6. Darwin visited Brazilian tropical rainforests and other new habitats where he collected samples and made meticulous field notes of the great diversity of life to send back home . FIELD NOTES AND SAMPLE COLLECTIONS

7. OBSERVATIONS MADE BY DARWIN DURING THE VOYAGE

8. 1.FOSSILS OF EXTINCT MAMMALS

9. Darwin dug up fossils of gigantic extinct animals and manhandled skulls, femurs, and armour plates back to the ship, he assumed, of  rhinoceros, cow-sized armadillos, and giant ground sloths. He unearthed a horse-sized mammal with a long face like an  anteater’s . This was hard evidence that organisms looked very different in the past . It suggested that living things—like Earth’s surface—change over time.

10. Darwin experienced an earthquake that lifted the ocean floor 2.7 meters above sea level and found rocks containing fossil sea shells in mountains high above sea level. These observations suggested that continents and oceans had changed dramatically over time and continue to change in dramatic ways. 2 .GEOLOGIC ACTIVITY HAS OCCURRED OVER TIME

11. 3.VARIATION IN FLORA AND FAUNA Different islands which are widely separated but have similar climate and topography have different flora and fauna. He observed that plants and animals living in the temperate regions of South America are much different than those from temperate regions of Europe

12. 4 .OBSERVATIONS ON THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS Darwin’s most important observations were made on the  Galápagos Islands . This is a group of 16 small volcanic islands 966 kilometers (600 miles) off the west coast of Ecuador, South America .

13. 14 species of Galápagos finches that evolved from a common ancestor but differing from each other.The different shapes of their bills, suited to different diets and habitats , show the process of adaptive radiation . A) DARWIN’S FINCHES & ADAPTIVE RADIATION

14. A " saddle-back " Galapagos Tortoise that inhabits drier areas of the islands and has a longer neck and a high peak to the front edge of its shell, this enables it to stretch it neck further out and obtain food higher up off the ground . A “ dome-shell” Galapagos Tortoise that occurs on the well-watered parts of the islands with short, cropped vegetation has gently curved front edges to its shell and a short neck. B ) TORTOISES ADAPTED TO HABITAT

15. On the last leg of the voyage Darwin finished his 770-page diary, wrapped up 1,750 pages of notes, drew up 12 catalogs of his 5,436 skins, bones and carcasses. Eventually his observations during and post voyage paved way to his famous book “ THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES ”  

16. ‘ The voyage of the Beagle has been by far the most important event in my life, and has determined my whole career. Everything about which I thought or read was made to bear directly on what I had seen or was likely to see; and this habit of mind was continued during the five years of the voyage. I feel sure that it was this training which has enabled me to do whatever I have done in science.’ - The life and letters of Charles Darwin, 1887

17. THANK YOU!