Practice question

Adaptive radiation describes rapid diversification of single ancestor into many forms exploiting different ecological niches, driven by ecological opportunity, such as Darwin's finches evolving varied beaks for seeds, insects and cactus, or cichlids in African lakes. It involves divergent evolution, morphological innovation and often occurs after colonization or mass extinction. Homologous structures reflect common ancestry. Classic example illustrates Macroevolution as diversification from common ancestor into distinct niches. This concept integrates genetics, ecology and molecular evidence, frequently tested in NEET, GATE and CSIR-NET, highlighting links between genotype, phenotype and environment.