: evolutionary diversification of a generalized ancestral form with production of a number of adaptively specialized forms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThis fact confirmed for the researchers that Tanganyika’s cichlids were ideal subjects for testing ideas about adaptive radiation — an evolutionary event in which many diverse species emerge rapidly and adapt to new environmental niches.Quanta Magazine, 1 Dec. 2020 Evolutionary theorists have two models for how adaptive radiation might play out.Quanta Magazine, 1 Dec. 2020 This adaptive radiation played out most dramatically in Mexico and Central America, where about 40 percent of all the world's oaks reside. Andrew L. Hipp, Scientific American, 15 July 2020
Word History
First Known Use
1898, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
adaptive radiation
noun
: evolutionary diversification of a generalized ancestral form with production of a number of adaptively specialized forms