PSY324H5 Study Guide - Final Guide: Uniformitarianism, Phylum, Genetic Variation
Document Summary
Evolution: descent with modification: the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation. Process of evolution consists of mechanisms that produce the observed pattern of changes in a species. Aristotle believed in the fixity of species: species were all made at the beginning of time and have never changed since they were created, organized life forms based off of increasing complexity. Scala naturae great chain of being. Darwin drew a lot of research based off of his studies with fossils: many of the fossils found in sedimentary rock, marine environments. Observed that from one layer to the next, some new species appeared while others disappeared from the rock/layers: advocated the idea of catastrophism to explain these observations. Series of past events that occurred suddenly and were caused by mechanisms different from those operating in the present.
