insufficient. For the next several years Darwin worked with the data on many of the species found on the Galapagos Islands, especially the finch. Darwin had collected many finches from both South America and the Galapagos Islands. He found that all his varieties shared many structural similarities, but differed in many physical traits, especially the beak. The ground finch ate mainly seeds, and its beak was heavy and strong. The tree finch ate leaves and blossoms, and its beak was thick and short. Woodpecker finches consumed insects, and its beak was stout and strait. He noticed that the finchs beaks all accommodated their eating habits. It was as if one species had modified into thirteen species. In November of 1859 Darwins book The Origin of the Species by Natural Selection came out. Immediately 1250 copies were bought up. The book begins with an account of the variations that have occurred in domesticated animals and plants, under the eye and guidance of man, then proceeds to discuss those that are known to have occurred in nature. Variability and change it shows to be the rule throughout the realm of living things. Next, came the evidence of the struggle to remain alive and reproduce. The book then follows with the controversial thesis on natural selection. (Sears 39). Darwins theories were greeted with great controversy. This was a time of religion and politics; the world was not ready for evolutionary thoughts. What nobody knew was that these thoughts would shape the future of science. Natural selection was probably the most important contribution of Darwin. This theory eventually became recognized throughout the scientific world. Natural selection was based on two principles: variation and selection. Individuals in one generation reproduce to produce individuals in the next generations that are not exact copies of their parents. There are a variety of slightly different individuals in every generation. As i...
