User:DakotaLynn13/Evolutionary biology

The idea of evolution by natural selection was proposed by Charles Darwin in 1859 after his voyage to the Galapogos Islands in 1831, but evolutionary biology, as an academic discipline in its own right, emerged during the period of the modern synthesis in the 1930s and 1940s. It was not until the 1980s that many universities had departments of evolutionary biology. In the United States, many universities have created departments of molecular and cell biology or ecology and evolutionary biology, in place of the older departments of botany and zoology. Palaeontology is often grouped with earth science.

Adaptive evolution relates to evolutionary changes that happen due to the changes in the environment, this makes the organism suitable to its habitat. This change increases the chances of survival and reproduction of the organism. For example, Darwin’s Finches on Galapagos island developed different shaped beaks in order to survive for a long time because of the different types of seeds.