Adaptive radiation

Definition

In evolutionary biology, adaptive radiation is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a multitude of new forms, particularly when a change in the environment makes new resources available, alters biotic interactions or opens new environmental niches. Starting with a single ancestor, this process results in the speciation and phenotypic adaptation of an array of species exhibiting different morphological and physiological traits. The prototypical example of adaptive radiation is finch speciation on the Galapagos, but examples are known from around the world.

Related concepts

Abiogenesis Adaptation African Great Lakes Allopatric speciation Altolamprologus Anolis Anolis cuvieri Anolis ecomorphs Anolis luteogularis Anolis ricordii Applications of evolution Argyroxiphium Astatotilapia calliptera Asteraceae Australia (continent)Beak Biodiversity Biogeography Biology Letters Biosocial criminology Boophis Cambrian Explosion Cambrian explosion Charles Darwin Cichla temensis Cichlid Clade Cladistics Cocos Island Cocos finch Coevolution Coextinction Common descent Competition Contingency (evolutionary biology)Convergent evolution Cooperation (evolution)Coptodon Correlation and dependence Costa Rica Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event Cuba Current research in evolutionary biology Dactyloidae Darwin's finches Divergent evolution Drosophila Dysgenics East African Rift Ecological genetics Ecological niche Ecological speciation Ediacaran biota End-Ediacaran mass extinction Ernst Mayr Eugenics Evidence of common descent Evolution Evolution as fact and theory Evolutionary aesthetics Evolutionary anthropology Evolutionary biology Evolutionary developmental biology Evolutionary ecology Evolutionary economics Evolutionary epistemology Evolutionary ethics Evolutionary game theory Evolutionary ideas of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment Evolutionary linguistics Evolutionary medicine Evolutionary neuroscience Evolutionary physiology Evolutionary psychology Evolutionary radiation Evolutionary taxonomy Experimental evolution Extinction Extinction event Finch Fitness (biology)Galápagos Islands Gene flow Genetic diversity Genetic drift Genetic variation Genus Geospiza Giant cichlid Glass frog Glossary of evolutionary biology Gnathochromis permaxillaris Greater Antilles Haplochromine Hawaii Hawaiian honeycreeper Hawaiian lobelioids Hispaniola History of evolutionary thought History of life History of molecular evolution History of paleontology History of speciation Human evolution Hylidae Hyposmocoma Index of evolutionary biology articles Introduction to evolution Invasion genetics Island biogeography Jamaica Jamaican giant anole John Gould Kauaʻi Laboratory experiments of speciation Lake Malawi Lake Tanganyika Lake Victoria Lamprologus callipterus Large ground finch Laysan finch Level of support for evolution List of adaptive radiated Hawaiian honeycreepers by form List of adaptive radiated marsupials by form Lobelia Loxops Madagascar Mantella Mantellidae Mass extinction Medium ground finch Modern synthesis (20th century)Monophyly Morphology (biology)Mouthbrooder Mutation Natural selection Nature versus nurture Nile perch Nimbochromis livingstonii Nonadaptive radiation Objections to evolution On the Origin of Species Opuntia Oreochromis Outline of evolution Paleontology Parallel evolution Peter and Rosemary Grant Phenotype Phylogenetic tree Phylogenetics Plecodus straeleni Poison dart frog Polymorphism (biology)Population genetics Predation Pseudoxyrhophiinae Psittirostrini Puerto Rico Quantitative genetics Recent human evolution Rejection of evolution by religious groups Reproductive isolation Richard Leakey Rift Valley lakes Selective breeding Serranochromis robustus Silversword alliance Small ground finch Social effects of evolutionary theory Sociobiology Speciation St. Helena Stabilizing selection Sympatry Systematics Tanager Taxonomy (biology)The eclipse of Darwinism Theistic evolution Three-spined stickleback Timeline of paleontology Timeline of the evolutionary history of life Tool use by non-humans Transitional fossil Transmutation of species Universal Darwinism Vanga Warbler-finch Woodpecker finch ʻAkiapolaʻau ʻAkikiki ʻIʻiwi

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