BIOLOGY

INVESTIGATOR
Y PROJECT
To study the adaptive
radiation in the aquatic
vertebrates
 INDEX

Objectives
Materials needed
Method
Result
Analysis and interpretation
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Bibliography
 OBJECTIVE

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 ("Darwin's finches"), but examples are known from
around the world.
Characteristics
Four features can be used to identify an adaptive radiation:
 A common ancestry of component species: specifically
a recent ancestry. Note that this is not the same as
a monophyly in which all descendants of a common ancestor
are included.
 A phenotype-environment correlation:
a significant association between environments and the
morphological and physiological traits used to exploit those
environments.
 Trait utility: the performance or fitness advantages of trait
values in their corresponding environments.
 Rapid speciation: presence of one or more bursts in the

emergence of new species around the time that ecological and

phenotypic divergence is underway.

Adaptive Radiation Causes:

Adaptive radiation is more common during major environmental
changes and physical disturbances. It also helps an organism to
successfully spread into other environments. Furthermore, it leads
to speciation. Moreover, it also leads to phenotypically dissimilar,
but related species. Major causes of adaptive radiation are:
 Ecological opportunities: When an organism enters a new
area with lots of ecological opportunities, species diversify to
exploit these resources.
 When a group of organism enter a new adaptive zone then
organisms tend to adapt themselves differently. It results
in adaptive divergence
 An adaptive zone is an unexploited area with numerous
ecological opportunities, e.g. nocturnal flying to catch
small insects, grazing on the grass while migrating across
Savana, and swimming at the ocean’s surface to filter out
Plankton
 Vacant adaptive zones are more common on islands, as
fewer species inhabit islands compared to mainland
 When adaptive zones are empty, they get filled by
species, which diversify quickly, e.g. Cichlids of African
Great Lakes, Darwin’s Finches of Galapagos island,
Hawaiian honeycreepers, etc.

 Mass Extinction- The term "mass extinction" refers to the

extinction of many species in a relatively short period of
geological time. Climate change, asteroid strikes, huge
volcanic eruptions, or a combination of these factors can all
contribute to catastrophic events. These have the potential to
alter at a quicker rate than evolution. Extinct species are
quickly replaced by new species that are better adapted to the
changing environment.

 Acquisition of Novel Adaptive Traits- Evolutionary

novelties can lead to changes in the basic pattern,
resulting in something distinct that adapts to a new role.
Feathered wings on birds that originated from reptilian
scales, for example, demonstrate flight preadaptation. A
minor change in regulatory genes or a gene mutation
might cause massive structural alterations in the
organism.
Examples of Adaptive Radiation
The cause for biodiversity is explained by adaptive radiation. The
following example can help to simplify the concept of adaptive
radiation.
1. Adaptive Radiation in Mammals: Consider the case of a
family with four children. They share the same parents and
ancestors, grew up in similar circumstances, and relocated to
different parts of the country for better opportunities. Each of
them now has their adaption based on their lifestyle and where
 they live. The lineage separates and radiates distinct features
at this point.

Adaptive Radiation in Mammals

2. Adaptive radiation in reptiles: Between the Permian and
Cretaceous periods, reptiles experienced adaptive radiation.
They ruled the land throughout the Mesozoic epoch,
commonly known as the "Age of Reptiles." The reptiles' early
success is owing to an evolutionary change from aquatic to
entirely terrestrial development, i.e., reptile amniotic eggs.
Cotylosauria produced a wide range of reptiles (stem reptiles).
3. Evolution of Australian Marsupials: The evolution of
diverse Australian Marsupials from a single ancestral stock in
the Australian subcontinent is another example of adaptive
radiation. This explains the varied evolution of the original
stock, which gives rise to a variety of species.
Convergent evolution occurs when many adaptive radiations
for diverse species occur in each geographical area.
 Evolution of Australian Marsupials
4. Darwin's Finches Adaptive Radiation: The Galapagos
Islands are a sequence of islands formed by volcanic activity.
These islands were never connected to South America's
continent. Darwin's finches are descended from little sparrow-
like birds that moved to the Galapagos Islands from the
mainland.
 There are around 14 different species present, each well-
adapted to its niche.
 Each island does not have all the species.
 Their beaks vary greatly in size and shape, which is related to
their feeding preferences.
 Ground finches, for example, are specialized for smashing
seeds, whereas others devour insects (tree finches).
 Finches that eat grass seed have short beaks, those that
consume hard fruit have enormous beaks, and those that eat
cactus have thicker, decurved, flower-probing beaks.
 The woodpecker finch has a long, straight beak.
5. Cichlids of the African Great Lakes: These lakes are home
to over 2000 species of cichlid fish, a spectacular example of
adaptive radiation. They have a variety of morphological
features and fulfill a variety of roles, including predators,
herbivores, and scavengers. Their teeth and skull shape change
depending on their eating habits.

Cichlids of the African Great Lakes

6. Hawaiian honeycreepers have undergone adaptive radiation.
They are a group of similar birds found in the Hawaiian
Islands. Honeycreepers immediately diversified and took up
residence in the accessible adaptable zones. There were more
than 50 species discovered, but only 17 are still alive today.
Many species were extinct as a result of the island's discovery
and subsequent colonization. Their beaks are adapted to meet
their nutritional needs. Some are bent, allowing them to suck
nectar from tubular flowers, while others are short and thick,
allowing them to rip away tree bark in pursuit of insects.
Impacts of adaptive radiation 

Adaptive radiation has the following impacts:

1. Adaptive radiation allows organisms to adapt to a
favorable environment while avoiding the unfavorable one,
increasing their chances of survival and decreasing their
chances of extinction.
2. Adaptive radiation is responsible for the diversity of species in
each geographic area.
 3. This enables the creation of novel species with distinct
morphological and physiological characteristics.
4. Adaptive radiation has hastened the evolutionary process.
5. This allows organisms to take advantage of various ecological
niches

Adaptive Radiation Evolution's Importance

Adaptive radiations tend to diversify biological specialty across the
board. This idea of species evolution is required to fully
comprehend how environmental forces cause evolutionary
divergence and affect how different species interact with their
surroundings.
Connection Between Adaptive Radiation and
Convergent Evolution

Convergent evolution can be shown in adaptive radiation. Several

creatures converge/share a shared habitat in convergent evolution.
This modification aids in their survival and alters the morphology
or appearance of similar organs. Adaptive radiation occurs when
an organism leaves its previous habitat and goes to a completely
new one.

Connection Between Adaptive Radiation and Convergent

Evolution

As a result, when several species begin to leave their locations and

enter a new environment, they must adapt to their new
circumstances and evolve. As a result, adaptive radiation is very
similar to radiation after radiation in terms of mechanism.

Things to Remember
 The first and most important characteristic is reciprocal
ancestry of constituent species: it is a recent ancestry, but not
identical to monophyly, which comprises all children of a
single antecedent.
 The second characteristic of adaptive radiation evolution is a
phenotype-environment correlation: This is a crucial link
between the environment and the physiological and
morphological characteristics of the organisms that use it.
  Trait utility is the third crucial element of this type
of evolution: it displays how well a trait performs in
conforming contexts.
 Rapid speciation is the final feature on the list: it denotes the
presence of single or several eruptions in the emergence of
new species of the organism around the time of phenotypic
and ecological divergence.

A 2020 study found there to be no direct causal relationship

between the proportionally most comparable mass radiations
and extinctions in terms of "co-occurrence of species",
substantially challenging the hypothesis of "creative mass
extinctions".