Month: June 2015

The recent formation and habitat diversity of the Galápagos archipelago, in conjunction with its relative isolation from the mainland, has helped the islands become rich in endemic species that have much to offer for the study of evolutionary biology. As a result of their volcanic origin and fluctuating climates, the islands of the Galápagos archipelago vary in age, size, topography and vegetation. In conjunction with their isolation from the mainland, this diversity of relatively new environments, both within and between islands, are perfect breeding grounds for speciation. The finches of the Galápagos archipelago and Cocos Island are the product of a fascinating adaptive radiation that started only about 1.5 million years ago, following the arrival of a common ancestor from South America. These finches are most notable for their diversity in beak morphology, which reflect the differences in their respective adaptations to exploiting various food resources. Charles Darwin’s observations of this diversity in beak morphology played an important role in the development of his theory of natural selection. “Seeing this gradation and diversity of structure in one small, intimately related group of birds, one might really fancy that from an original paucity of birds in this archipelago, one species had …