![]() ![]() An example of adaptive radiation in microbes (i.e., coral reef endosymbionts) is documented by Thornhill, et al. Givnish and Sytsma 1997 put together studies of adaptive radiation across a diverse set of taxonomic groups and thus serves as a great guide to the most prominent examples of adaptive radiation (plants: Hawaiian silverswords and lobeliads mammals: Australian marsupials birds: Darwin’s finches amphibians: Anolis lizards insects: Hawaiian Drosophila fish: Cichlid fish and sticklebacks). Schluter 2000 both summarizes and synthesizes the current state of the field, including many new comparative analyses across systems. ADAPTIVE RADIATION ISLAND UPDATEFor a more modern update on adaptive radiations, see the pivotal book Schluter 2000 and a review chapter Losos and Mahler 2010. Lack 1947 and Simpson 1953 developed the idea of how ecology (ecological opportunities and interspecific competition) promotes rapid proliferation and diversification of organisms into different environments. The conceptual framework of adaptive radiations and its importance in generating biodiversity were laid out in Lack 1947 and Simpson 1953. Overall, this article will address research on the origin of new species and the evolution of ecological differences between them. Lastly, we connect to the literature addressing the constraints on adaptive radiations. ![]() Next, connections to the literature aiming to understand the proximate and ultimate causes of adaptive radiation are provided, including explicit tests of the role of ecology, as well as an exploration of the source of genetic variation and geographic conditions promoting adaptive radiation. ![]() Then the literature on specific approaches to test for adaptive radiation is featured. The article will highlight literature that helps to clarify the concept of adaptive radiation by distinguishing it from other related biological processes. This article provides a general overview of the literature addressing the study of adaptive radiation, including taxa-specific examples and major literature reviews. While many great individual cases of adaptive radiation have been studied, such as Darwin’s finches, African rift lake cichlids, and Hawaiian silverswords, controversies remain on topics such as the definition of an adaptive radiation, the appropriate approach to test for it, and the ultimate causes of an adaptive radiation. The central components of adaptive radiation are (1) rapid diversification of multiple species from a single common ancestor and (2) different species exhibit different ecological traits that are adaptive to different niches. The spectacular diversity of life on earth presents one of the most intriguing questions for biologists: why and how does the variation among organisms arise? One powerful concept that has its origins with Darwin (late 1800s) and was developed in detail during the Modern Synthesis (early to mid-1900s), is “adaptive radiation.” This evolutionary process refers to the rapid diversification of a single lineage into many different species during which different morphological/ecological traits evolve in association with different environments and niches. ![]()
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