Q.
Resource partitioning in an environment with limited resources and interbreeding species leads to
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NTA AbhyasNTA Abhyas 2020Evolution
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Solution:
The occurrence of interspecific competition in nature, they point out that the species facing competition might evolve mechanisms that promote co-existence rather than exclusion. One such mechanism is ‘resource partitioning’. If two species compete for the same resource, they could avoid competition by choosing, for instance, different times for feeding or different foraging patterns. One classical example is Darwin's Finches. Darwin's finches are small birds which were first observed by Darwin at Galapagos Islands during his voyage in his ship H.M.S.Beagle. Darwin noticed that all the islands had these small finches which were very similar except for their diverse beak shapes. This was surprising for him and so Darwin observed these birds and thus came to the conclusion that beak shapes were different because of their different feeding habits and the habitat. Thus the finches got adapted to the new habitat and habits. This is called adaptive radiation. This was also an example of divergent evolution as according to Darwin these finches being similar had a common ancestor but due to habitat changes got adapted separately. Hence these finches are examples of adaptive and divergent evolution.