Adaptive Radiation

Adaptive radiation is when a single species evolves into a number of

distinct yet closely related species.
Each new species is adapted to live in a different ecological niche. This
process usually occurs when a variety of new resources are made
available and are not used by any other species.
An example would be dwarvens finches. There are 13 different species
that live in the Galapagos Islands all evolved from a common ancestor.
Assuming that all the finches all had medium sized beaks that fed on
medium sized seeds; individual with smaller beaks would have an easier
time eating smaller seeds however there could be other birds that have
already adapted for consumption of smaller seeds. This is the same for the
birds with larger beaks. Other birds from a different species may already be
programmed to consume seeds and thus competition is introduced.
Adaptaie radiation is when a spiecies is introduced into a new environment
when copetitors or predators are eliminated by a catastrophe and thus the
spiecies becomes isolated from copetitioon. This can happen via mass
extinction, contential drift or induation. Some examples of spiecies that
developed from are lemurs from primitive primates on the island of
magascar, and a diverse range of primitive mamalls that evolved into
terrestrial, avian and aquatic forms during the teriatry period,
Bailey, Jill. "adaptive radiation." Science Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.
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adaptive radiation
From: Encyclopedia of Biodiversity.

Adaptive radiation has nothing to do with unstable isatopes. Its a form of

evolution in which many different spiecies have a single common acesstor.
Throughout the history of the world, spieicies have become extinct by
natural selection, or simple misfortune while others produced many new
spiecies as a result of adaptive radiation.
Adaptaive radiation can occur when a spiecies is relocated to a new
location which the founding population undergoes adaptive radiation or the
survivalng renmants of a population of a once widespread spiecies
undergoes adaptive radiation.
The result is increase in biodiversity over evolutionary time as the ancestral
population separate into distinct populations that do not interbeed thus
allowing different directions of evolution to occur. This is usually a result of
environmental factors such as natural selection. For example some finches
may be in an environment thats rich with insects and evolve pointed beaks
via natural selection in order for better consumption of the resouces while
other finches in an environment with a lot of large seeds may evolve larger
beaks via natural selection and so forth.
Nearly every genus contains more than one spiecies or any family with
more than a single genus can be an example. White oaks are part of the
genus and subgenus of querus. At a time of abou 80 million years ago
there may have lived a single spiecies of white oak that lived in what now is
East Asia.
In the Mesozoic and Cenozoic era warm temperatures on Earth allowed
oaks to spread to the northern hemisphere which present day location are
Europe, Eastern north America and California. Then Eurasia was separated
from North America via continental drift and cooler. The rocky mountains
arose and conditions became cooler and drier during the latter part of the
Cenozoic era. These events separate the white oaks of Europe, eastern
North America and California separating them into three different species
including querus robur (English oak), in Europe Querus macrocarpa (bur
oak) in eastern North America and Querbus douglasii (Blue oak) in
California. Deciduous patterns of leaf productions were encouraged in cold
areas while warmer areas encouraged evergreen patterns. Oak species
constitute as an example of adaptive radiation within the white oak
subgenus.

While adaptive radiation of oaks occurred over the course of 80 million

years, the time of adaptive radiation of 500 species of cichlid fish in the
lakes of Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria in Africa has occurred in just the
last few thousand years. Fish with heavy jaws to crush mollusks; slender,
swift fish that consume plankton, small fish that prey on parasites off the
skins of larger cichlid fish, larger fish that devour other fishes and fish with
sharp teeth that scrape algae off rocks have one similar component. They
have little genetic variation and thus their adaptive radiation was rapid and
recent.
The Hawaiian archipelago sits on a plume of lava that rises from the mantle
known as a hot spot. The oldest islands have now completely eroded
beneath sea level while major islands such as Niihau and Kauai which
formed 5 million years ago no longer have active volcanoes. The youngest
island Hawaii is less than a million years old and still has active volcanic
eruptions. Plant and animal species have dispersed to the islands primary
from the south west evolving into unique Hawaiian archipelago. Spiecies
from older ilsands disperse into younger ones as they become suitable for
life and radiation occurs in space (unique spiecies of each island) and time
(From older islands to younger ones) in the Hawaiian archipelago.
The presence of other species can prelude directions of speciation. For
example on the galapgaos islands, predators were largely absent and
finches figured a way to drink blood from the legs of large marine birds by
pecking them. Woodpeckers were also absent and some finches who use
sticks to get insects out of holes would not have been able to compete with
the efficient predators and predators.
Therefore adaptive radiation occurs rapidly when a new populations invade
a new habitat with a different variety of resources. The population adapts to
the conditions of the new habitat with no potential predators.
Release from competition is the main reason why adaptive radiation has
occurred after large disasters. Example: When dinosaurs were extinct,
mammals had undergone adaptive radiation
Release from competition is the reason adaptive radiation has occurred
most spectacularly in the history of Earth after large disasters. During the
Mesozoic era, mammals were few in number and low in diversity. Their
constant body temperatures made them successful nocturnal animals. The
dinosaurs, meanwhile, ruled the daytime. After the Cretaceous extinction,
which cleared away the dinosaurs, mammals underwent an explosive
adaptive radiation. Large mammals did not exist before the Cenozoic era;
any mammal species that began to evolve a large size would have been
unsuccessful in competition with large dinosaurs, but many huge mammals

evolved in the early Cenozoic. Along with the big mammals, many of the
modern categories of mammals, including whales, primates, and bats,
evolved. Mammals have continued to have adaptive radiations, but none
quite as spectacular as the adaptive radiation that occurred early in the
Cenozoic era.
Within species, the adaptive radiation of subspecies and varieties
continues. These represent possible future species. The preservation of
biodiversity requires not just the protection of species but of subspecies
and varieties as well.
Further Information
Gillespie, Rosemary G. "The ecology and evolution of Hawaiian spider
communities." American Scientist 93 (2005): 122131.
Grant, Peter R., and B. Rosemary Grant. How and Why Species Multiply:
The Radiation of Darwin's Finches. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University
Press, 2007.
Schilthuizen, Menno. Frogs, Flies, and Dandelions: The Making of Species.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Schluter, Dolph. The Ecology of Adaptive Radiation. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2000.
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APA

Citation Information
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--------Consider the example of Darwins fi nches (Figure 1). species. Let us
assume that the

original species of fi nch living on the mainland of South America had a

medium-sized
bill ideally suited to feed on certain medium-sized seeds. Individuals born
with slightly
smaller bills might have been better at eating smaller seeds, but they might
have faced
stiff competition from other bird species that were already specialized in
feeding on the
smaller seeds. Finches eating larger seeds would also face similar
competition. Th e result
adaptive radiation the relatively rapid
evolution of a single species into many
new species, fi lling a variety of formerly
empty ecological niches
mangrove _nch
warbler _nch
woodpecker _nch
large tree _nch
medium tree _nch
small tree _nch
large ground _nch
sharp-beaked _nch
cactus _nch
medium ground
_nch
large cactus
_nch
small ground
_nch
vegetarian
_nch
tree
_nches
ground
_nches
insect-eating species
seed-eating species
C08-F08-OB11USB
Figure 1 Thirteen species of Darwins fi nches are the result of recent
adaptive radiation and fi ll

many different ecological niches. Genetic evidence shows they all evolved
from a single common
ancestor species.
NEL 8.3
was stabilizing selection on the mainland fi nches to stay in their
specialized ecological
niche. An entirely diff erent fate awaited individuals of this fi nch species
once they
reached the Galapagos Islands (Figure 2). Instead of hundreds of other
species of land
bird, there were few or none. Th eir only competition was with each other
individuals
of the same speciesfor medium-sized seeds.
Th e islands might already have been teeming with populations of many
plant and
insect species that could have arrived long before. Th e diff erent habitats
would have
harboured a diverse array of food resources, such as various-sized seeds
and diff erent
insects. With no insect-eating birds on the islands, the fi nches had an
opportunity to
exploit a new food source with no competition. In such a setting, any fi
nches born with
a diff erent bill size or feeding behaviour would have been rewarded with a
rich supply
of food and little competition from other birds. Th e result of adaptive
radiation was
seven seed-eating species, one of which feeds primarily on other plant
parts, and six
insect-eating species.
Th e most spectacular case of adaptive radiation is witnessed in the cichlid
fi shes
of lakes Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika in Africa. Each lake is quite
isolated from
other bodies of water, making it very diffi cult for new species to arrive.
Each lake,
however, is home to hundreds of unique species, all descended from one
or a few
initial species. Lake Malawi alone has nearly 1000 species of cichlid. All but
two of

these species are found nowhere else on Earth.

In each case of adaptive radiation, an initial species evolves into a variety
of new
species that diff er to varying degrees from the original species. In this way,
adaptive
radiation contributes to biodiversity. A similar pattern can be seen on a
much larger
scale when we consider entire groups of organisms and very large
ecosystems.
adaptive radiation the relatively rapid
evolution of a single species into many
new species, fi lling a variety of formerly
empty ecological niches
Divergent Evolution
Adaptive radiation increases biodiversity, as a single species evolves into
many
new species fi lling a number of diff erent ecological niches.
Adaptive radiation occurs rapidly when a species is able to exploit a wide
variety of new resources with little or no competition from other species.
Divergent evolution increases biodiversity and leads to predictable largescale
patterns of evolution as major ecological roles are fi lled by a variety of
species
each with their own specializations.
Convergent evolution occurs when diff erent species or groups evolve
similar
adaptations under similar conditions.
Coevolution occurs when the evolution of two species becomes linked.
Coevolution oft en strengthens symbiotic relationships.