Large ground finch (Geospiza magnirostris )
The Daphne Major finches are a group of Darwin's finches that inhabit Daphne Major island of the Galápagos . The common cactus finch (Geospiza scandens ) and the medium ground finch (G. fortis ) are the main species;[ 1] while the large ground finch (G. magnirostris ) and the Española cactus finch (G. conirostris ) are regular immigrants.[ 2] Most extensively studied by Peter and Rosemary Grant of Princeton University since 1973,[ 3] the birds are one of the sources of the understanding of bird behaviour, adaptation, and evolution.[ 4] [ 5]
Since the early 1980s, it has been observed that a population of finches on Daphne Major, named the Big Bird lineage , has started to develop into what will likely become a distinct species. These birds are currently still considered as hybrids of the Española cactus finch (G. conirostris ) and the medium ground finch, but the breeding of the offspring exclusively among themselves gave rise to a new lineage which are reproductively isolated from the parent populations.[ 6] This is a case of demonstrating homoploid hybrid speciation , and an example of human observed speciation.[ 7]
References
^ Rosemarygrant, B (2003). "Evolution in Darwin's Finches: a review of a study on Isla Daphne Major in the Galapagos Archipelago" . Zoology . 106 (4): 255–259. doi :10.1078/0944-2006-00123 .
^ Boag, Peter T.; Grant, Peter R. (1984). "Darwin's Finches (Geospiza) On Isla Daphne Major, Galapagos: Breeding and Feeding Ecology in a Climatically Variable Environment" . Ecological Monographs . 54 (4): 463–489. doi :10.2307/1942596 . ISSN 0012-9615 .
^ Zimmer, Carl (2008-10-01). "A Career Among The Finches" . Science . Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-08 .
^ Herrmann, Nicholas C.; Stroud, James T.; Losos, Jonathan B. (2021). "The Evolution of 'Ecological Release' into the 21st Century" . Trends in Ecology & Evolution . 36 (3): 206–215. doi :10.1016/j.tree.2020.10.019 .
^ Reinke, Beth A.; Miller, David A.W.; Janzen, Fredric J. (2019-11-02). "What Have Long-Term Field Studies Taught Us About Population Dynamics?" . Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics . 50 (1): 261–278. doi :10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110218-024717 . ISSN 1543-592X .
^ Lamichhaney, Sangeet; Han, Fan; Webster, Matthew T.; Andersson, Leif; Grant, B. Rosemary; Grant, Peter R. (12 January 2018). "Rapid hybrid speciation in Darwin's finches" . Science . 359 (6372): 224–228. Bibcode :2018Sci...359..224L . doi :10.1126/science.aao4593 . PMID 29170277 . S2CID 206663426 .
^ Galloway, Rory (2017-11-23). "Galapagos finches caught in act of becoming new species" . BBC News . Retrieved 2023-02-08 .