Anthro
"On the Law which has Regulated the Introduction of New Species" is a paper written in 1855 by the pioneering evolutionary biologist Alfred Russel Wallace. The article outlines a theory of evolution that predates Darwin's Origin of Species. In fact, Wallace's paper predated a letter that he wrote to Charles Darwin and which was a source of inspiration for the latter's work. Wallace wrote "On the Law which has Regulated the Introduction of New Species" in Sarawak, Borneo, but inside the article mentions the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin developed his theories. Islands may evolve peculiar variations of species due to their geographic isolation from continental masses. Wallace was well travelled and mentions a number of different geographic zones that are relevant to his research on biological evolution including zones in the Americas, Europe, and also Asia.
"On the Law which has Regulated the Introduction of New Species" discusses the interaction between geography and animals, between animals of different species, and between animals of the same species. The author points out that species traits and species survival are largely dependent on geographic conditions. "The present geographical distribution of life upon the earth must be the result of all the previous changes, both of the surface of the earth itself and of its inhabitants," (p. 2). It is therefore impossible to view biology as being completely distinct from geography. As geographical elements ranging from climate to sea water levels change, so too do the physical characteristics of species. The species interacts with geography. Geography can lead to the development of new species, or to the extinction of some species. Wallace's law can also explain biological phenomenon such as rudimentary appendages that are no longer used by the animal.
Moreover, the interaction between species has a strong impact on species development and evolution. "Every species has come into existence coincident both in time and space with a pre-existing closely allied species," (p. 14). Differences in physical characteristics between similar creatures on different continents can attest to the accuracy of Wallace's hypotheses. Wallace's statement, "Every species has come into existence coincident both in time and space with a pre-existing closely allied species," was thereafter known as the Sarawak Law in honor of Wallace's research in Borneo (p. 14). The Sarawak Law is supplemented also by Wallace's subsequent observations of nearly abrupt differences in species distributions in Asia, causing the author to hypothesize the existence of peculiar, distinct geographic zones. Wallace also points out that geography impacts species distribution across the planet. "Large groups, such as classes and orders, are generally spread over the whole earth, while smaller ones, such as families and genera, are frequently confined to one portion, often to a very limited district," (p. 3). In one small area, great variations within one species can be observed. Wallace also offers a critique of his colleague Forbes' theory of polarity.
Wallace speculates there are "antetypes" of species, which can provide coding for the evolution of new species even after one species in the same lineage is extinct. In fact, Wallace developed the analogy of species evolution using a tree motif. Like a human genealogical tree, the evolutionary biology tree shows how a central trunk can yield numerous branches. Some branches can die off or cease to grow, but others can grow from the same trunk. The trunk is a metaphor for the antetype of species. Thus, "the analogy of a branching tree" is "the best mode of representing the natural arrangement of species and their successive creation," (Wallace, p. 1855, p. 9). Wallace's work underwrote the future of evolutionary biology.
Part Two
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