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Daphne Major Finches
The Daphne Major finches are a group of Darwin's finches that inhabit Daphne Major island of the Galápagos. The common cactus finch (''Geospiza scandens'') and the medium ground finch (''G. fortis'') are the main species; while the large ground finch (''G. magnirostris'') and the Española cactus finch (''G. conirostris'') are regular immigrants. Most extensively studied by Peter and Rosemary Grant of Princeton University since 1973, the birds are one of the sources of the understanding of bird behaviour, adaptation, and evolution. Since the early 1980s, it has been observed that a population of finches on Daphne Major, named the Big Bird lineage, has started to develop into what will likely become a distinct species. These birds are currently still considered as hybrids of the Española cactus finch (''G. conirostris'') and the medium ground finch, but the breeding of the offspring exclusively among themselves gave rise to a new lineage which are reproductively isolated T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Large Ground Finch (4229035966)
The large ground finch (''Geospiza magnirostris'') is a species of bird in the genus Geospiza. One of Darwin's finches, it is now placed in the tanager family Thraupidae and was formerly in the Emberizidae. It is the largest species of Darwin's finch. Description The large ground finch weighs about 27-39 g, and its length ranges slightly 15-16 cm. It is the largest species of Darwin's finch both in total size and size of beak. The feather and bill colors vary between males and females. The adult male is mostly black, with slightly browner wings and tail; the cloaca is white-streaked; the eyes are dark brown. It also has blackish legs. The tail is relatively short. An adult female has browner feathers compared to a male, sometimes with yellow-brown or grey outer edges; scaled patterns are found going up the body; most parts of the torso and the head are streaked with brown and pale yellow shades. Beak It has a large beak, having a thick base of lower mandibles and curved cul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Darwin's Finches
Darwin's finches (also known as the Galápagos finches) are a group of about 18 species of passerine birds. They are well known for being a classic example of adaptive radiation and for their remarkable diversity in beak form and function. They are often classified as the subfamily Geospizinae or tribe (biology), tribe Geospizini. They belong to the Thraupidae, tanager Family (biology), family and are not closely related to the true finches. The closest known relative of the Galápagos finches is the South American dull-coloured grassquit (''Asemospiza obscura''). They were first collected when Second voyage of HMS Beagle, the second voyage of the ''Beagle'' visited the Galápagos Islands, with Charles Darwin on board as a gentleman naturalist. Apart from the Cocos finch, which is from Cocos Island, the others are found only on the Galápagos Islands. The term "Darwin's finches" was first applied by Percy Lowe in 1936, and popularised in 1947 by David Lack in his book ''Darwin' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daphne Major
Daphne Major is a volcanic island just north of Santa Cruz Island and just west of the Baltra Airport in the Archipelago of Colón, commonly known as the Galápagos Islands. It consists of a tuff crater, devoid of trees, whose rim rises above the sea. Though easily accessible to most visitors to the Galápagos, the national park service has highly restricted visits to this island, and it is primarily used for scientific research. Daphne Major finches are the main source of the understanding of animal evolution in the Galápagos. An intensive study of Darwin's finches was conducted here by biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant over a period of 20 years. They examined the behaviour and life cycles of the finches, demonstrating the role of natural selection in producing biological evolution. Their efforts were documented in the Pulitzer Prize–winning book '' The Beak of the Finch''. Daphne is home to a variety of other birds including Galápagos martins, blue-footed booby, Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Cactus Finch
The common cactus finch or small cactus finch (''Geospiza scandens'') is a species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family Thraupidae. It is endemic to the Galapagos Islands, where it is found on most islands, with the notable exception of Fernandina, Española, Genovesa, Darwin and Wolf. Most of these islands are inhabited by its close relative, the Española cactus finch. Its natural habitats are dry scrubland and woodland. It is usually closely associated with the cactus ''Opuntia''. Taxonomy The common cactus finch is one of nine species in the genus ''Geospiza ''Geospiza'' is a genus of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. All species in the genus are endemic to the Galápagos Islands. Together with related genera, they are collectively known as Darwin's finches. Although in the past, they were class ...'', part of a group of closely related species known as Darwin's finches.Swash and Stills 2005, p. 100. There are four recognized subspecies: *''G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medium Ground Finch
The medium ground finch (''Geospiza fortis'') is a species of bird in the family Thraupidae. It is endemic to the Galapagos Islands, Galápagos Islands. Its primary natural habitat is tropical shrubland. One of Darwin's finches, the species was the first which scientists have observed Evolution, evolving in real-time. Many studies and research have been conducted on medium ground finches: there are the most famous studies conducted by Charles Darwin and more recent studies conducted in relation to the changes revolving around the medium ground finches due to natural selection. Due to an increase in urbanization on the Galápagos Islands, droughts and climate change, character displacement, changes in the finch's habitat and range, inbreeding and nesting, parasites, and viruses, medium ground finches have gone through changes. Changes that have been observed are beak size, behavior in feeding, behavior in inbreeding, behaviors in nesting, antibody development and more. The changes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Large Ground Finch
The large ground finch (''Geospiza magnirostris'') is a species of bird in the genus Geospiza. One of Darwin's finches, it is now placed in the tanager family Thraupidae and was formerly in the Emberizidae. It is the largest species of Darwin's finch. Description The large ground finch weighs about 27-39 g, and its length ranges slightly 15-16 cm. It is the largest species of Darwin's finch both in total size and size of beak. The feather and bill colors vary between males and females. The adult male is mostly black, with slightly browner wings and tail; the cloaca is white-streaked; the eyes are dark brown. It also has blackish legs. The tail is relatively short. An adult female has browner feathers compared to a male, sometimes with yellow-brown or grey outer edges; scaled patterns are found going up the body; most parts of the torso and the head are streaked with brown and pale yellow shades. Beak It has a large beak, having a thick base of lower mandibles and curved cul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Española Cactus Finch
The Española cactus finch (''Geospiza conirostris''), is a species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is one of Darwin's finches, and is endemic to the Galápagos islands, where it is restricted to Española, Genovesa, and the Darwin and Wolf Islands. This rather dark bird resembles the smaller and finer-beaked common cactus finch, but the two species do not co-inhabit any island. Its natural habitat is dry shrubland and it is commonly seen on the ground. Its main food source is the cactus ''Opuntia''. Taxonomy The Española cactus finch is one of Darwin's finches, a group of closely related birds that evolved on the Galápagos Islands. The group is related to the '' Tiaris'' grassquits, which are found in South America and the Caribbean. An ancestral relative of those grassquits arrived on the Galápagos Islands some 2–3 million years ago, and the Española cactus finch is one of the species that evolved from that ancestor.Grant & Grant (2008), p. 25. From a st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter And Rosemary Grant
Peter Raymond Grant (born October 26, 1936) and Barbara Rosemary Grant (born October 8, 1936) are a British married couple who are evolutionary biologists at Princeton University. Each currently holds the position of emeritus professor. They are known for their work with Darwin's finches on Daphne Major, one of the Galápagos Islands. Since 1973, the Grants have spent six months of every year capturing, tagging, and taking blood samples from finches on the island. They have worked to show that natural selection can be seen within a single lifetime, or even within a couple of years. Charles Darwin originally thought that natural selection was a long, drawn out process but the Grants have shown that these changes in populations can happen very quickly. In 1994, they were awarded the Leidy Award from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The Grants were the subject of the book '' The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time'' by Jonathan Weiner, which wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. The institution moved to Newark, New Jersey, Newark in 1747 and then to its Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County campus in Princeton nine years later. It officially became a university in 1896 and was subsequently renamed Princeton University. The university is governed by the Trustees of Princeton University and has an endowment of $37.7 billion, the largest List of colleges and universities in the United States by endowment, endowment per student in the United States. Princeton provides undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate education, graduate instruction in the hu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Bird (finch)
Big Bird, also known as the Big Bird lineage, is one of the species of Darwin's finches that is exclusively present on Daphne Major of the Galápagos Islands. It originated from a single male Española cactus finch (''Geospiza conirostris'') that immigrated to Daphne Major in 1981, which founded a hybrid lineage by breeding with a female medium ground finch and creating 5 offspring. It resembles the medium ground finch but is relatively larger, hence, the name. The offspring tend to breed only with their own family members, thereby giving rise to reproductive isolation and undergoing speciation. Discovered by the research team of Peter and Rosemary Grant, the formation of Big Birds as a distinct species is considered as an instance of observed speciation and as a process of evolution by natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hybrid (biology)
In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, subspecies, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two different organisms, whereas an individual where some cells are derived from a different organism is called a chimera. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents such as in blending inheritance (a now discredited theory in modern genetics by particulate inheritance), but can show hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are. Species are reproductively isolated by strong barriers to hybridization, which include genetic and morph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
