adaptive radiation


noun Biology.

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.

Origin of adaptive radiation

First recorded in 1900–05

British Dictionary definitions for adaptive radiation

adaptive radiation

noun

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

Scientific definitions for adaptive radiation

adaptive radiation
[ ə-dăptĭv ]

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. See Note at adaptation.