Evolution in the Galapagos
The Galapagos Islands are one of the easiest places in the world to see the effects of evolution. Mockingbirds, for example, can vary in size, beak length and shape, feather coloration depending on which island they inhabit. On Española Island, the mockingbirds’ beaks are long and curved to allow for more efficient digging. Darwin noticed these slight differences in species between islands on his 1831 voyage; he also noticed the similarities between species found on the South American mainland and those in the Galapagos. His observations eventually led to the theory of evolution, which ironically can be easily observed in a short period of time on one of the Galapagos Islands that Darwin never visited- Daphne Major. Plants’ seed size varies with the amount of rainfall received each year; the beak size of ground finches on the island changes as well. When small seeds are more prevalent, the next generation has a smaller average beak size, and the opposite is true when large seeds are dominant.
I was very surprised to learn that evolution could be observed in such a short period of time with macroscopic organisms like the ground finches on Daphne Major. Before watching this video (and before learning about the ground finch study in Ecological Principles), I assumed that evolution was a much slower process (if you exclude bacteria, etc.), requiring thousands if not millions of years to occur. This video did an excellent job explaining the ground finch study and evolution as it relates to the Galapgos.
I was very surprised to learn that evolution could be observed in such a short period of time with macroscopic organisms like the ground finches on Daphne Major. Before watching this video (and before learning about the ground finch study in Ecological Principles), I assumed that evolution was a much slower process (if you exclude bacteria, etc.), requiring thousands if not millions of years to occur. This video did an excellent job explaining the ground finch study and evolution as it relates to the Galapgos.