ADAPTIVE RADIATION

=Adaptive Radiation= An adaptive is the rapid divergence (speciation) of one species into several new species [image:http://i.imgur.com/WVpdZJ5.png?1] This generally occurs when environmental conditions change or a species first colonises an area with new environmental conditions. The availability of new resources and challenges can provide new unoccupied niches (lifestyles). Members of the ancestral species will evolve adaptation to take advantage of each niche and in the process might become so different that they can no longer interbreed (reproductive isolation), resulting in their divergence into several different species (speciation). [image:http://i.imgur.com/XR5Lc4l.png?1] A good example is the Galápagos finches. Pictured are four of the 14 finch species found on the Galápagos Islands. It is believed they evolved by an adaptive radiation that diversified their beak shapes to suit different food sources (to occupy a different niche).