zeris bentails149146146146145151150157162166161172172174172169164172177178Plierous normalis154158166183181187188193196202202205205206211215220230240247Tweeseris pointus155156165172178177180181181179184192192193200202204201208212Tosserus saladis143141142138136154164177191203195179179168157156164163165163SummaryAll of the finches studied in this experiment originated on the same island. On this island there was diversified food success, allowing natural selection to take place and create separate species to fill different niches on the island. When the natural disaster occurred the finches were forced to migrate to another island where the conditions were not as favorable. The finches that were once separated by clines and food sources are now competing for survival.The adaptations that the finches evolved on the original island made some finches more successful at food acquisition on the new island. Due to allopatric speciation the isolated population began to deviate form the parent population because of the founder effect and is was less likely to gene flow. The isolated finch population began to diverge genetically under the pressure of different selective forces. The linage is then spread through cladogenesis.As the food sources changed, different finches in the same species were more successful. Therefore through stabilizing selection the extreme individuals were eliminated by the changing food sources. Because the separate species were able to fill several niches in the environment, polymorphism allows the finches to coexist despite their phenotypic differences.Once the finches arrived on the island, some finches were better adapted than others. For instance, when there was corn available on the island, tosserus saladus had a hard time picking up the tiny corn with such a large beak. Tweezeris bentalis also had a hard time with the corn because of its beak been too thin. However, Phorous robustus, Plierous normalis, and Tweezeris p...
