Question

How are the Hawaiian honeycreepers an example of adaptive radiation?

Answer 1

Answer: In adaptive radiation, many different species evolve from a single ancestor species. Each new species evolves to exploit a different niche, such as food source. In the example above, Hawaiian honeycreepers evolved a range of bill forms in response to available food sources on the Hawaiian archipelago. The honeycreepers dispersed from one founder species, and evolved in response to natural selection based on different food sources in their isolated habitats provided by water. Seed-eating birds evolved thick, short beaks.