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When he proposed the theory of evolution through natural selection
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Darwin founded a new branch of life science, evolutionary biology
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Four of his contributions to evolutionary biology are especially important, as they held considerable sway beyond that discipline.
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The first is the nonconstancy of species, or the modern conception of evolution itself.
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The second is the notion of branching evolution, implying the common descent of all species of living things on earth from a single unique origin
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Darwin further noted that evolution must be gradual, with no major breaks or discontinuities.
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He reasoned that the mechanism of evolution was natural selection.