Elisabeth Vrba facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elisabeth Vrba
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Vrba in 2009
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| Born | May 27, 1942 |
| Died | February 5, 2025 (aged 82) New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Cape Town |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Paleontology |
| Institutions | Yale University |
Elisabeth S. Vrba (born May 27, 1942, died February 5, 2025) was an American scientist. She was a paleontologist at Yale University. She is famous for her ideas about how species change over time. She developed the turnover-pulse hypothesis. She also helped create the word exaptation.
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Early Life and Education
Elisabeth Vrba studied zoology and paleontology. She earned her Ph.D. (a high-level degree) from the University of Cape Town in 1974. Before that, she studied zoology and math at the same university.
After getting her Ph.D., she started studying fossils in Africa. She looked at very old fossils to understand how life changed over millions of years. She studied the shapes of fossils and where they were found in the ground. She also worked closely with Charles Kimberlin Brain at the Transvaal Museum.
Her Work and Discoveries
Vrba became a professor at Yale University in the 1980s. She is well known for two big ideas in science.
What is Exaptation?
Vrba and her fellow scientist, Stephen Jay Gould, came up with the word exaptation. This idea helps us understand how features in animals change over time.
They suggested that something an animal has (like a certain body part or a gene) might have started for one reason. But later, it might be used for a completely different purpose. For example, feathers might have first helped dinosaurs stay warm. Later, they became useful for flying. So, the original use (warmth) was not the same as the new use (flight).
This idea helps scientists understand how evolution works. It shows that things don't always evolve for their current use. Sometimes, they find a new use later on.
The Turnover-Pulse Hypothesis
Vrba also created the Turnover-pulse hypothesis. This is an important idea in macroevolution. Macroevolution is about big changes in life over long periods.
Her hypothesis suggests that major climate changes can cause many species to change or die out at the same time. When the climate changes, it can create a "pulse" of evolution. This means new species might appear, and old ones might disappear. She studied antelopes and similar animals (Family Bovidae) to develop this idea.
Her work has helped scientists understand how Earth's climate affects the evolution of life.
See also
In Spanish: Elisabeth Vrba para niños
