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

Hybridization in cichlid ancestors could even have triggered the adaptive radiations that produced so many species.

From Quanta Magazine

This fact confirmed for the researchers that Tanganyika’s cichlids were ideal subjects for testing ideas about adaptive radiation — an evolutionary event in which many diverse species emerge rapidly and adapt to new environmental niches.

From Quanta Magazine

This cichlid data set gives a uniquely detailed and rich picture of adaptive radiation, but these patterns may not hold in all cases.

From Quanta Magazine