Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Islands show us a great example of how natural selection works.
Variety: There are 15 different kinds of finches, and their beaks vary in size from 0.4 cm to 1.0 cm.
Change to Survive: When droughts happen, finches with larger beaks (around 9.5 mm) do better because they can open tough seeds. On the other hand, finches with smaller beaks (about 8.5 mm) have fewer babies during this time.
Numbers: In an important study, 80% of the finches had fewer numbers, showing how only the strongest survive.
These changes in the finches’ beaks show us evolution happening right before our eyes.
Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Islands show us a great example of how natural selection works.
Variety: There are 15 different kinds of finches, and their beaks vary in size from 0.4 cm to 1.0 cm.
Change to Survive: When droughts happen, finches with larger beaks (around 9.5 mm) do better because they can open tough seeds. On the other hand, finches with smaller beaks (about 8.5 mm) have fewer babies during this time.
Numbers: In an important study, 80% of the finches had fewer numbers, showing how only the strongest survive.
These changes in the finches’ beaks show us evolution happening right before our eyes.