ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2008) — In the first experiment of its kind conducted in nature, a University of British Columbia evolutionary biologist has come up with strong evidence for one of Charles Darwin's cornerstone ideas -- adaptation to the environment accelerates the creation of new species.
"A single adaptive trait such as color could move a population towards the process of forming a new species, but adaptation in many traits may be required to actually complete the formation of an entirely new species," says UBC post-doctoral fellow Patrik Nosil, whose study is just published.* "The more ways a population can adapt to its unique surroundings, the more likely it will ultimately diverge into a separate species."
