The Beak of the Finch

by

Jonathan Weiner

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Beak of the Finch makes teaching easy.

Adaptive Radiation

Adaptive radiation is the process by which a group of organisms diversify and specialize into narrow ecological niches in order to prevent competition with similar species, and thus more carefully ensure their own survival. For… read analysis of Adaptive Radiation

Creationism

Creationism is the belief that God created the world exactly as it is today. Creationist beliefs run counter to Darwinist beliefs, the latter of which are founded in observable scientific fact rather than in spirituality… read analysis of Creationism

Darwin (Unit of Measurement)

The darwin is a unit of measurement created by the evolutionist J.B.S. Haldane in 1949 to describe the rate of evolution. The darwin is defined as a rate of change of one percent per million… read analysis of Darwin (Unit of Measurement)

Darwinism

Inspired by the work of naturalist Charles Darwin, darwinism is the belief that the process of natural selection leads to the evolution of species. read analysis of Darwinism

El Niño

El Niño, which means “the child” in Spanish, is a weather event defined by patches of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean. Those patches spread and create strange winds and weather events all… read analysis of El Niño
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Hybridization

Hybridization is the crossing of species. It sometimes takes place in nature, such as when horses and donkeys mate to create mules (male offspring) or hinnies (female offspring), though oftentimes these hybrids are born sterile… read analysis of Hybridization

Natural Selection

Natural selection is a process in which organisms, such as plants, animals, or bacteria, that are best-suited to their respective environments tend to thrive and pass on their favorable traits to their offspring. Useful traits—such… read analysis of Natural Selection

Sexual Selection

Sexual selection is a form of natural selection that arises through a preference by one sex for certain traits present in the other sex. For instance, a female finch might choose to mate with a… read analysis of Sexual Selection

Stabilizing Selection

Stabilizing section is a form of natural selection in which extreme traits are selected against. For instance, in a cold snap in New England, sparrows that are either too large or too small might be… read analysis of Stabilizing Selection