“Adaptive radiation occurs when a new set of niches open up.” Discuss this quote, with reference to specific adaptive radiation(s) and taxa.
Adaptive radiation is a phenomenon in evolutionary biology in which particular taxa diversify rapidly especially when a variation or shift in the environment presents new resources from an ancestral species into a plenitude of new forms, reveals new environmental niches or builds new challenges.
A key adaptation generally means an adaptation that permits the organism or species to exploit and evolve a new resource or niche. A specific adaptation may provide the opportunity for adaptive radiation and open up many new niches to an organism. For example- It is believed that beetle radiations may have been triggered and induced by adaptations in beetles for feeding on flowering plants.
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