The Origin Of Species: The Beak Of The Finch

Graphic of island with birds that are similar except for coloring. Caption: They had become distinct species.

Over the past four decades, evolutionary biologists Rosemary and Peter Grant have documented the evolution of the famous Galápagos finches. They track changes in body traits directly tied to survival, such as beak length, and identify behavioral characteristics that prevent different species from breeding with one another. Their pioneering studies have revealed clues as to how 13 distinct finch species arose from a single ancestral population that migrated from the mainland 2 million to 3 million years ago.

(Source: DCMP)

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  • The Origin Of Species: The Beak Of The Finch

    Type:
    Video
    Format:
    Streaming
    Accommodations:
    English Audio Descriptions - Visual, English Captions - Auditory
    Languages:
    English
    License:
    OER
    Author:
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute
    Length:
    16 minutes