Theodosius Dobzhansky, 1973

This quote states the importance of evolution to modern day biology better than anything else I have read.

Another quote from one of my text: (BioInquiry by Pruitt)

"Evolution is one of the most important concepts in all of science. In biology, it has become a unifying principle, that is, a concept of such central importance that nearly all other facets of the field are directly related to it and influenced by it."

The theory of evolution, as we shall see, has sparked more controversy than perhaps any other biological idea. Most people speak with knowledge about evolution but really do not know what it is all about. If asked about the meaning of evolution many people would reply that it says humans have come from monkeys and they would often laugh. This is not what this theory says at all as we shall see.

Some, when asked, talk about the idea of the "survival of the fittest" and continue to explain that the strongest (often said as they flex their muscles) will rule! Another wrong idea...after all, 65 million years ago some of the "strongest" creatures ever known died while small little rodent-type critters survived and became dominate.

We have talked about the idea of biodiversity...the idea of so many types of living things. It is here with the understanding of evolution that we will be able to answer the central qustion for this unit: