[[Darwin observed that some finches had larger beaks than other finches in the population on the Galápagos Islands. What does this observation illustrate? ]]
a.Adaptation
b.Evolution
c.Heredity
d.Variation
2007-03-20 04:04:28 · 8 answers · asked by punk rock princess 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
b. Evolution.
Following his observations of the finches Darwin came out with his theory of evolution. An original finch, geographically isolated, evolved into a number of different finches, each one adapted to its own environment and food source.
There are 14 separate species of finch, all of which probably evolved from the mainland species. th e islands have few other species of birds. In the absence of competition, the finches became adapted to fill all the available niches. In particular, they evolved a wide range of beak sizes and shapes so that they could take advantage of the food sources on the different islands.
The evolution of an ancestral species into different species to fill different niches is called adaptive radiation.
ex. of Darwin's finches:
1) Large ground finch has strong beak with which it can crack nuts
2) A large tree finch has a strong, sharp beak which it uses like metal cutters to grab large insects such as beetles.
3) A warbler finch has a small pointed beak with which it catches flying insects.
4) The cactus finch has a long, tough beak with which it can probe cactus flowers for nectar. It also eats cactus seeds and nectar.
5) The woodpecker finch has a hard beak with which it hammers wood. It uses a cactus spine to probe for insect larvae in the wood.
2007-03-20 04:15:38 · answer #1 · answered by mieke 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Galapagos Finches Beaks
2016-10-16 12:43:44 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
D. variation.
Darwin considered that even if everything had been created by a creator, he couldn't figure out why the creator had taken the trouble of creating a slightly different finch-species on each island, instead of just one spiecies for all of them.
2007-03-20 04:33:15 · answer #3 · answered by mgerben 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
D. Variation. There are many differen't species of animals on that small island.
2007-03-20 04:08:28 · answer #4 · answered by MusicLvr 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
actually, a little of everything.
Each beak is adapted to their food source, which means that beak evolved over time as a result of heredity.
2007-03-20 04:09:56 · answer #5 · answered by YE_ 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Evolution, because of the theory he made about species
2007-03-20 04:09:31 · answer #6 · answered by Diana D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
d, variation
2007-03-20 04:08:40 · answer #7 · answered by rustybones 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
adaptation?
2007-03-20 04:08:14 · answer #8 · answered by Izzy 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋