Darwin's finches

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/darwins-finches

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Geospizinae (subfamily) or Geospizini (tribe)
2. Why do Darwin's finches have different beak shapes?When the first finch arrived on the islands, each group found new foods like seeds, insects, or cactus. Natural selection made their beaks change so they could eat those foods better, creating many species.
3. How did Darwin discover the finches' special beaks?During his second voyage on the Beagle, Charles Darwin collected finch specimens from many islands. He noticed that their beaks looked different on each island, which helped him think about how species can change.

Adaptive Radiation: The evolutionary diversification of a single ancestral lineage into multiple species that occupy distinct ecological niches.
Natural Selection: The differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype, leading to adaptation.
Endemism: The ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island or nation.
Niche Partitioning: The process by which competing species use the environment differently in a way that helps them to coexist.