Evidence for Evolution There are many lines of evidence that show that evolution has occurred. They come from both the fossil record and from biology. Lines of evidence for evolution cited by Darwin Fossils provide direct evidence for changes in life in rocks of different ages.
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There are many lines of evidence that show that evolution has occurred. They come from both the fossil record and from biology.
Many examples of gradual or sequential evolution in the fossil record, including:
Homologous structures - body parts with similar origin, history and structure, but different functions.
Vestigial organs suggest a common ancestry. Vestigial organs serve no apparent purpose, but resemble functioning organs in other animals.
Vestigial pelvis and femur of a whale in an Eocene fossil
Similarity of embryos of all vertebrates suggests a common ancestry.
Biochemistry - Chemicals (such as proteins, antigen reactions of blood, digestive enzymes, and hormone secretions) are more similar in related organisms.
DNA sequencing – If organisms appear to be similar on the basis of form, embryonic development, or fossil record, we can predict that they would have a greater percentage of DNA sequences in common, compared with less similar organisms.
This is proven to be correct in hundreds of analyses.
The ocean may be divided into two realms:
Plankton - Small plants and animals that float, drift, or swim weakly.
Nekton - Swimming animals that live within the water column
Benthic organisms or benthos - Bottom dwellers, which may be either:
Environmental limitations control the distribution of modern plants and animals.
Migration and dispersal patterns of land animals can indicate the existence of:
Species diversity is related to geographic location, particularly latitude.
As a general rule, species diversity increases toward the equator.
Fossils can be used to interpret paleoclimates (ancient climates):
Remains of prokaryotic cells (blue-green algae or cyanobacteria) more than 3.5 billion years old. Found in algal mats and stromatolites.
Metazoans = multicellular organisms
Mass extinctions occurred at the ends of the following periods: