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Galapagos FinchesPART IYes, those little sparrow-like birds, are the most incredible lesson in natural selection. There are a total of 14 species of Darwin's Finches (13 in Galapagos, 1 in Cocos Island), and all belong to the Passerine group (finches, sparrows, etc). An ancestral Galapagos finch arrived millions of years ago, and because of the Islands' isolation, their geological make-up, odd weather for tropical standards, and a chain of islands to hop around, it ended up into a set of different species (yes, over time) that differentiate themselves not only in behavior, but most important, their overall diet, and thus their beaks. Look at the beak differences in these Galapagos Finches:
Find Cheap Airline Tickets to the Galapagos Islands here You read it right: their beaks! When you need a specific tool for a specific use, you don't go around trying all the tools until you find the right one...over time, you rather develop a specific one. Simple. It may sound Lamarckian, and from that angle it sure is. But here come Darwinian principles: variation acts as a regulating factor of the truly fit (something unheard of by Lamarck). Slight variations in beak size design the evolutionary mechanism that allows species to be different. In other words, the species-making machine. Fancy biological terms like allopatric and sympatric speciation complement this idea better. PART IIThe definition of allopatric and sympatric has to do with where did this making of species took place? Was it in several islands, or was it in one Island? To make the story incredibly amazing, the answer is that speciation took place in both scenarios. but wait, it gets better... Colonization, recolonization, competition, feeding grounds, isolation, ecological setup, nesting habitat, age and altitude of islands, and more, are factors to be considered when understanding Darwin's finches. (I suggest you read The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Wiener; Pulitzer Prize Winner). This may bring one idea a bit more clear to you: finches Galapagos Islands and animal tremendous diversity. If several ecological niches are found (laymen call this "what to eat, where to live"), therefore colonization (and, indeed, recolonization) can become the factory where new species are "made". Add a million years of time, plus natural selection, and voilá...new species!!. The Galapagos Islands feel proud about renaming with a bird species "the Galapagos Finches" that will remain as a living proof of evolutionary importance in today's modern thinking. Galapagos Recommended Reading:Birds, Mammals, and Reptiles of the Galapagos Islands: An Identification Guide, 2nd Edition This is the most comprehensive guide to the unique wildlife of the Galapagos, excellent and detailed descriptions of its extraordinary birds, mammals, and reptiles. (Highly recommended) Wildlife of the Galapagos (Traveller's Guide)
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