Darwin’s finches are a group of about fifteen species of birds that inhabit the Galápagos Islands. The most important differences between species are in the same size and shape of their beaks. Refer to the diagram below to answer the following questions. 1. Explain why only sexual reproduction could create the variation in beak shapes and sizes.
2. Identify which cell cycle is responsible for sexual reproduction and explain how that cell cycle increases variation.
3. Provide a mechanism for how the variation available in the finches led to the variety of beaks we see below.