Abstract
Darwin’s finches on the Galápagos Islands are a classical example of adaptive radiation. A total of 13 species have been formed from a single ancestral species that colonized the Galápagos 2–3 million years ago. Each species occupies a distinct and unique feeding niche. For evolutionary biologists, they pose a challenge. What is the explanation for the evolution of such a variety of species in a relatively short space of time? What governs the rate of speciation and the directions of evolution? Answers to these questions are of general significance in the context of understanding why the world is so rich biologically.
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Grant PR, Grant BR (2008) How and Why Species Multiply. Princeton University Press, Princeton
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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Grant, P., Grant, B. (2013). Insight into Speciation From Long-term Research on Darwin’s Finches. In: Trueba, G., Montúfar, C. (eds) Evolution from the Galapagos. Social and Ecological Interactions in the Galapagos Islands, vol 2. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6732-8_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6732-8_11
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