How did one ancestral populations give rise to many species each with different adaptations?
From this one migrant species would come many — at least 13 species of finch evolving from the single ancestor. This process in which one species gives rise to multiple species that exploit different niches is called adaptive radiation. The ancestral finch was a ground-dwelling, seed-eating finch.
How did island isolation lead to the development of fourteen finch species on the Galapagos Islands?
On each new island, the birds had to compete for different types of food. Those finches whose beak shape and size helped them find and eat food were able to survive and reproduce. This process is called natural selection. Over millions of years, the ancestral finch species became fourteen different species of finch.
Why do you think the finches evolved into 14 different species?
Long, pointed beaks made some of them more fit for picking seeds out of cactus fruits. Shorter, stouter beaks served best for eating seeds found on the ground. Eventually, the immigrants evolved into 14 separate species, each with its own song, food preferences, and beak shapes.
How did so many different species of finch evolve from a common ancestor?
As different populations of finches occupied these niches, they evolved adaptations that enabled them to survive in the different habitats. Thus, in a relatively short period of time, many different species of finches evolved from a single ancestral population, a process called adaptive radiation.
What do we call a change in a species over time?
Evolution is a process that results in changes in the genetic material of a population over time. Evolution reflects the adaptations of organisms to their changing environments and can result in altered genes, novel traits, and new species.
Where does the strongest evidence for change over a long period of time come from?
Today, scientists can compare their DNA. Similar DNA sequences are the strongest evidence for evolution from a common ancestor.