Adaptive Radiation

Ø During his exploration of the Galapagos Islands, Darwin noticed that there were many varieties of finches in the same island.

Ø They varied from normal seed eating varieties to those that ate insects.

Ø This process of evolution starting from a single point and radiating in different directions is called adaptive radiation.

Ø The other example for this is the evolution of the Australian marsupials from a single ancestor. Placental mammals also exhibit similarities to their corresponding marsupial. Example: placental wolf and the Tasmanian wolf

Ø When more than one adaptive radiation occurs in an isolated geographical area, the phenomenon is called convergent evolution.