The Process of Adaptive Radiation and Link it to Evolution

2695 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Charles Darwin's theory of evolution

Charles Darwin, the father of evolution theories, stated that the intelligence or the strength of specie does not guarantee its survival and the continuation of its genetic line. The individual in a species with the suitable genetic material will continue to exist if sudden changes that require adaptation quickly bloom. These traits, which are not necessarily desirable, allow the individuals that contain them to live on and will be passed on from generation to generation. He describes these individuals as being ‘responsive to change’ because he sees them as the most sensitive to disturbances. So that they adapt quickly or prepare themselves to do so. This is a fragment of the definition and explanation of evolution that Darwin and many other academics were very much interested in. Evolution is a long, important process containing many components or fragments like adaptive radiation. This paper aims to outline the process of adaptive radiation and link it to evolution giving examples of instances where radiation was successful. Not failing to include the modern species distribution and the historical cause of the distribution.

The species by which the term and theory of adaptive radiation came to be known is the finches’ discovered by Charles Darwin. It is the process whereby different species emerge from one ancestor. If there is one species dominating in an environment then there will be an overuse of the resources so the individuals in the population will begin competing for them. This can result in the decrease of the population. In order to avoid dying off of individuals, the organisms radiate to different areas within the environment. They adapt to their new environments which in turn makes them into new species. This ties...

... middle of paper ...

...n Gene during the Adaptive Radiation of East African Great Lakes Cichlid Fishes. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 19 (10), 1807–1811.

Takahashi, T. and Koblmuller, S. 2011: The Adaptive Radiation of Cichlid Fish in Lake Tanganyika:

A Morphological Perspective. International Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 1-14.

Tohru Sugawara, Yohey, and Norihiro Miyagi, R., Terai, Y., Aibara, M., Sugawara, T., Imai, H., Tachida, H., Mzighani, S. I., Okitsu , T., Wada, A. and Okada, N. 2012: Correlation between nuptial colors and visual sensitivities tuned by opsins leads to species richness in sympatric Lake Victoria Cichlid fishes. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 29(11), 3281–3296.

Wilson, 2001. Adaptive Radiation. Retrieved from (http://learning.ukzn.ac.za/file.php/31915/Adaptive_Rad.pdf) Accessed on 28 March 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Seahorse Hippocampus Hypothesis

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Seahorses are a prime example of species whose atypical biology and unusual global distribution leads to a series of evolutionary questions. Seahorses (genus Hippocampus) are a marine species that have extensively been studied because of their abnormal behaviors in the marine environment compared to other marine creatures. Many of the seahorse species have large ranges, both longitudinally (over a great horizontal distance across the ocean), and latitudinal (great vertical distance within the ocean), regardless of the fact that they are characterized as weak swimmers and lack any large structural fins for efficient swimming (Lourie et al., 1999a). Although they do have these large range environments, seahorses

    Read More

  • Evolution and The Island of Doctor Moreau

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    Darwin: A Norton Critical Edition, Second Edition ; ed. by Philip Appleman; copyright 1979, 1970 by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

    Read More

  • Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection and Social Darwinism

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1859, a biologist named Charles Darwin postulated a scientific theory, which stated that all living organisms evolved through a process of natural selection. According to Stephen Hawking, Charles Darwin claimed that the offspring of a particular species gradually evolved themselves genetically to resist the changes in the environment (573). The theory contended that the organisms could adapt to the changes in the environment through the survival of the fittest. Though this theory is regarded as a breakthrough in the field of biological evolution, it is interesting to explore how this seemingly scientific theory has been suitably modified, and intellectually applied to both negative and positive aspects of life.

    Read More

  • Virtual Child

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    Darwin has two theories on the key principles of theory of evolution. One is the natural selection, a species that attains characteristics that are adapted to their environments (Darwin, Charles). The other one is survival of the fittest, which is when an individual best adapts to their environment survive to reproduce, and their genes are passed to later generat...

    Read More

  • Chondrichthyan Fish Essay

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fish were amongst the first known chordates about 500 million years ago. Therefore, they have a very elaborate and complicated evolutionary history. The first type of fish to appear during the Ordovician era were called Ostracoderms. They had their head and flanks covered with a bony armor while they had a cartilaginous back. The shield was used to keep off predators. The extinction of the Ostracoderms during the Devonian period saw the emergence of Placoderms. These types of fish were also armored, but their functional jaws distinguished them from their predecessors. They also have gills derived from their jaws that took over the specialized role of gaseous exchange. Evolution of

    Read More

  • The History of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    It was during his journey on board the Beagle that Darwin developed his theory of evolution. “On the Origin of Species” (Darwin, 1859) proposed two main principles: evolution really occurs and natural selection is its mechanism. This work published on 24th November 1859 traces a coherent portrait of life bringing together in an orderly manner an astonishing variety of apparently independent facts. It led biologists to concentrate on the diversity of organisms, their origins and their relation, their similarities and their differences, their geographical distribution and their adaptation to various environments.

    Read More

  • IVF and the New Eugenics

    1509 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) Fact Sheet." National Human Genome Research Institute. 15 Nov. 2007. National Institutes of Health. .

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Human Skin Color

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Darwin and his theory on evolution, organisms are presented with nature’s challenge of environmental change. Those that possess the characteristics of adapting to such challenges are successful in leaving their genes behind and ensuring that their lineage will continue. It is natural selection, where nature can perform tiny to mass sporadic experiments on its organisms, and the results can be interesting from extinction to significant changes within a species.

    Read More

  • Natural and Artificial Selection

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many scientists in the past, such as Aristotle and Plato, believed that there were no changes in populations; however, other scientists, such as Darwin and Wallace, arose and argued that species inherit heritable traits from common ancestors and environmental forces drives out certain heritable traits that makes the species better suited to survive or be more “fit” for that environment. Therefore, species do change over a period of time and they were able to support their theory by showing that evolution does occur. There were four basic mechanisms of evolution in their theory: mutation, migration, genetic drift, and natural selection. Natural selection is the gradual process by which heritable traits that makes it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce increases, whereas there is a decline in those who do have those beneficial heritable traits (Natural Selection). For example, there is a decrease in rain which causes a drought in the finches’ environment. The seeds in the finches’ environment would not be soft enough for the smaller and weaker beak finches to break; therefore, they cannot compete with the larger and stronger beak finches for food. The larger and stronger beak finches has a heritable trait that helps them survive and reproduce better than others for that particular environment which makes them categorized under natural selection (Freeman, 2002).

    Read More

  • Sensory System Essay

    2455 Words  | 5 Pages

    Sensory systems are essential to a mammal’s survival and for providing important information concerning their internal and external environment (Hill et al., 2011). Sensory systems depend on specialized sensory receptor cells that respond to stimuli, either from the mammals’ internal or external environment (2011). One form of sensory is electroreception, which is the detection of electrical currents or fields in aquatic mammals and mechanoreceptors are specialized to respond to different types of mechanical stimuli, such as touch, taste, smell, etc. (2011). The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) exhibits electroreception with the help of mechanoreceptors to detect prey item while submerged in water.

    Read More

  • Charles Darwin: A Biography

    468 Words  | 1 Pages

    Darwin’s observations from the islands made him want to come up with some explanation to why this occurred. He began to do research of each the species that had lived on these islands and observe all of the characteristics that had. He noticed that the islands h...

    Read More

  • Darwinian Evolution Case Study

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    Darwinian evolution is the theory of biological evolution stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual’s ability to compete, survive and reproduce. This theory was settled by Charles Darwin, a naturalist and geologist best known for this evolutionary theory. Darwinian evolution has been around since the 19th century (Darwin C. 1859 Descendant of Man), and has continued to now 2015. Some changes that are provided from Darwin until now includes the discovery of how genes have different biological or behavioral traits, and how genes are passed down to the offspring. Another idea that has changed is the natural selection, for example genes can be transferred from one population to another due to migration.

    Read More

  • Osmoregulation of Brine Shrimps

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... incredibly relevant to today world. Brine shrimps are also used as test subjects due to their incredible resilience, and are also sold as a novelty item “sea monkeys.” Unfortunately, these unique critters have become threatened in some cases as water is diverted away (for human use) from high saline environments inhabited by brine shrimp. As a result, the water becomes more saline and usually results in a rising pH which can endanger the shrimps. The information provided in these two studies shows the need, function, means, and genetic explanation for osmoregulation. As humans continue to impact the environment, changing salinity will result in changing need for osmoregulation, and as a result, future scientists will need to explore how organisms can react to the need to osmoregulate more or less and how that will impact organism populations’ survival as a whole.

    Read More

  • Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

    1026 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...idea “Survival of the Fittest” captured the imagination and strong attention of the public. This idea about survival of the fittest was applied to everything from the business world to the structure of society of a whole. Since the publication, On Origin of a Species has been closely studied by generation after generation of biologists. Many scientists have categorized and amplified theories. Making Darwin stand tall against scientists such as, Ernst Mayr, who divided his theory into the five parts.

    Read More

  • The Genetic Theory Of Adaptation : A Brief History By H. Allen Orr

    772 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...for more accurate predictions of how species will evolve and whether or not certain species will survive and what adaptations could promote or inhibit that process. There are different methods of adaptation available for animals and plants to employ in nature. Thus, exploring adaptations during our lectures would grant us better insight into what caused certain things to demonstrate specific adaptations and would aid in the explanation and expansion of convergent evolution.

    Read More

More about The Process of Adaptive Radiation and Link it to Evolution

Open Document