One definitive way to link ecological changes to evolution would require a time machine. Traveling both backward and forward would allow observers to see how particular animals adapt to changes in climate, environment, or other variables.
Since no such machine exists — except in the movies — a group of researchers leaned on the next best thing: data and experiments. By doing so, this group is the first to link ecological changes to a species’ adaptation — a phenomenon known as "speciation," according to a report in Science.
The Importance of Darwin's Finches
The group turned to a well-studied species — the so-called Darwin’s Finches, named because the famous scientist, Charles Darwin, observed them on the Galapagos Islands.
In a study 25 years ago, Jeffrey Podos, a University of Amherst biologist, showed that changes in the beaks of Darwin’s finches affects how they sing. He then speculated that that when the birds would start singing a different tune, they could attract different mates, which could then lead to further evolutionary change. But he had no way then of proving that hypothesis.
