Adaptive Radiation - Unsolved Practice Set
Chapter: Evolution | Topic: Adaptive Radiation
ADAPTIVE RADIATION - UNSOLVED PRACTICE SET
Topic: Adaptive Radiation
Multiple Choice Questions
Q1. Adaptive radiation refers to the process by which:
- A single species remains unchanged over time
- An ancestral species diversifies into many new species, each adapted to a different ecological niche
- Two unrelated species evolve identical traits
- A species goes extinct suddenly
Q2. The classic example of adaptive radiation studied by Darwin involved different species of finches found on the:
- Amazon rainforest
- Galapagos Islands
- Himalayan region
- Sahara desert
Q3. Adaptive radiation typically occurs when a species colonises a new area with:
- Intense competition and no available niches
- Multiple vacant ecological niches and little competition
- No resources available at all
- A completely hostile, uninhabitable environment
Q4. Differences observed among Darwin's finches, related to their evolutionary adaptation, were mainly seen in the shape and size of their:
- Wings
- Beaks
- Tail feathers
- Eyes
Q5. Adaptive radiation occurring independently in different, geographically isolated locations, leading to a similar range of adapted forms, is sometimes called:
- Divergent evolution only
- Convergent evolution only
- Parallel adaptive radiation
- Chemical evolution
Short Answer Questions
Q6. Define adaptive radiation, in your own words.
Q7. Why are Darwin's finches on the Galapagos Islands considered a classic example of adaptive radiation?
Q8. What conditions typically favour adaptive radiation when a species colonises a new geographic area?
Q9. Give one example, other than Darwin's finches, of adaptive radiation.
Long Answer Questions
Q10. Describe the process of adaptive radiation using Darwin's finches as an example, explaining how a single ancestral species diversified into multiple species with different beak shapes.
Q11. Explain why isolated environments, such as islands, are particularly favourable locations for adaptive radiation to occur.
APPLICATION / ANALYSIS
Q12. A group of birds from the mainland colonises a remote island that has no other bird species and a variety of unused food sources (seeds, insects, fruit). Predict, using your understanding of adaptive radiation, what might happen to this bird population over many generations, and explain your reasoning.
Q13. Australia's marsupial mammals show a wide variety of forms - from kangaroos to marsupial "moles" and "wolves" - each adapted to a different ecological role, in many ways similar to placental mammals found elsewhere. Explain how this pattern illustrates the concept of adaptive radiation.