ADAPTIVE RADIATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does adaptive radiation mean? 

• ADAPTIVE RADIATION (noun)
  The noun ADAPTIVE RADIATION has 1 sense:

1. the development of many different forms from an originally homogeneous group of organisms as they fill different ecological niches

  Familiarity information: ADAPTIVE RADIATION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ADAPTIVE RADIATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The development of many different forms from an originally homogeneous group of organisms as they fill different ecological niches

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("adaptive radiation" is a kind of...):

radiation (the spread of a group of organisms into new habitats)

 Context examples 

Most of the world is forested, but the energetic constraints of a leafy diet seem to prevent adaptive radiation.

(Putting the sloth in sloths: Arboreal lifestyle drives slow pace, NSF)