The cichlid fishes of the African Great Lakes exemplify remarkable adaptive radiation. However, some lakes show far greater cichlid diversity than others. Which factor is MOST likely to explain this variation in diversity among lakes?
Uniform water temperature and oxygen levels throughout the lake
Absence of other competing fish species in the lake
Presence of diverse habitats and resources within the lake
Lower rates of predation on cichlids in some lakes
Related Questions
What is the primary outcome of adaptive radiation?
Decreased biodiversity.
Increased competition.
Increased biodiversity.
Stabilization of the environment.
Darwin differentiate …A… species of finches and grouped them into …B… main types.
Choose the correct option for A and B to complete the given statement
13, 4
14, 5
10, 3
12, 6
Which of the following is a key factor driving adaptive radiation?
Lack of competition.
Stable environmental conditions.
Availability of new ecological niches.
Low mutation rates.
Which of these is LEAST likely to be a key innovation driving adaptive radiation?
Novel metabolic pathways
Key developmental innovations
Environmental change creating new niches
Evolution of new symbiotic relationships
Adaptive radiation is often observed in situations where:
The environment remains stable for long periods
Strong competition exists within a well-established ecosystem
A new ecological opportunity arises, such as colonization of a new island
Species are highly specialized to a particular niche
How might an evolutionary biologist explains why a species of birds has evolved a larger beak size?
Large beak size occurred as a result of mutation in each member of the population
The ancestors of this bird species encountered a tree with larger than the average sized seeds. They needed to develop larger beaks in order to eat the larger seeds and over time, they adapted to meet this need
Some members of the ancestral population had larger beaks than others. If larger beak size was advantageous, they would be more likely to survive and reproduce. As such, large beaked birds increased in frequency relative to small beaked birds
There is no way to explain such phenomenon in evolutionary terms
The process by which different type of finches were evolved in Galapagos islands is
Adaptive radiation
Geographic similarity
Geographic dissimilarity
Unadaptive radiation
In the animals, the same structures developed along the different directions due to the adaptations to different needs. This is called
Convergent evolution
Divergent evolution
Disruptive evolution
Directional evolution
Adaptive radiation is characterized by rapid diversification. Which ecological factor is LEAST likely to be a primary driver of rapid adaptive radiation?
Colonization of a new, geographically isolated environment
Mass extinction events creating vacant ecological niches
Evolution of a key innovation that allows exploitation of new resources
Stable environmental conditions over long periods
When more than one adaptive radiation occurred in an isolated geographical area
Convergent evolution
Divergent evolution
Chemical evolution
All of the above
