adaptive radiation

noun

, Biology.

1. the diversification of an ancestral group of organisms into a variety of related forms specialized to fit different environments or ways of life, each often further diversifying into more specialized types.

adaptive radiation

noun

1. evolution of a number of divergent species from a common ancestor, each species becoming adapted to occupy a different environment. This type of evolution occurred in the Tertiary manuals and the Mesozoic reptiles

adaptive radiation

/ ə-dăp′tĭv /

1. The evolutionary diversification of a species or single ancestral lineage into various forms that are each adaptively specialized to a specific environmental niche. Adaptive radiation generally proceeds most rapidly in environments where there are numerous unoccupied niches or where competition for resources is minimal.
2. See Note at adaptation

Word History and Origins

Origin of adaptive radiation¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Ever since Darwin examined variation in the beaks of Galápagos finches, many studies have looked at how the environment could drive such an adaptive radiation.

From Science Magazine

She may have been part of an adaptive radiation that happened earlier than researchers once thought, perhaps after hominins began to walk upright and expanded their habitats and diets, Ward says.

From Science Magazine

But what triggered the evolutionary explosion of snake diversity -- a phenomenon known as adaptive radiation -- that led to nearly 4,000 living species and made snakes one of evolution's biggest success stories?

From Science Daily

Evolutionary biologists have long suspected that the diversification of a single species into multiple descendent species -- that is, an "adaptive radiation" -- is the result of each species adapting to a different environment.

From Science Daily

These cichlids are considered a classic example of 'adaptive radiation,' where one group gives rise to many species, each with unique characteristics and behaviours.

From Science Daily