High School

We appreciate your visit to How have finches on the Galápagos Islands adapted to fill specific niches A Each species of finch has a beak designed for a different food. This page offers clear insights and highlights the essential aspects of the topic. Our goal is to provide a helpful and engaging learning experience. Explore the content and find the answers you need!

How have finches on the Galápagos Islands adapted to fill specific niches?

A. Each species of finch has a beak designed for a different food source.
B. All species have average beaks that can access the same food sources.
C. One species of finch evolved the optimal beak design and can eat any food source.
D. All species of finches have average beaks, but they instinctively only try to eat one type of food.

Answer :

Answer:

A

Explanation:

As the species seperated they formed a differnt beak based on what they ate.

Thanks for taking the time to read How have finches on the Galápagos Islands adapted to fill specific niches A Each species of finch has a beak designed for a different food. We hope the insights shared have been valuable and enhanced your understanding of the topic. Don�t hesitate to browse our website for more informative and engaging content!

Rewritten by : Barada

Final answer:

Finches on the Galápagos Islands have evolved different beak shapes to exploit various food sources, with each species having a beak suited to its specific dietary needs. This is due to adaptive radiation and was first theorized by Charles Darwin and later confirmed by the research of biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant.

Explanation:

The finches on the Galápagos Islands have adapted to fill specific niches primarily through the diversification of their beak shapes. Each species of finch has evolved a beak that is uniquely adapted to its food source, which is a classic example of adaptive radiation. Seed-eating finches have developed thicker and stronger beaks for cracking hard nuts, whereas nectar-eating finches have longer beaks suited for accessing nectar from flowers, and insect-eating finches possess sharper beak shapes optimized for capturing insects.

Charles Darwin famously observed these variations in beak shape during his visit to the islands, leading him to postulate that a single ancestral species had evolved over time to exploit different food resources. This was further supported by the research done by biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant in the 1970s, who witnessed evolution by natural selection occurring in real-time among these finches.

Thus, the correct answer to the question is A: Each species of finch has a beak designed for a different food source, allowing them to fill specific ecological niches within their environments.