{"id":467862,"date":"2026-05-04T12:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T12:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/467862\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T12:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T12:19:13","slug":"darwins-islands-still-evolving-giant-daisies-rewrite-the-rules-of-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/467862\/","title":{"rendered":"Darwin\u2019s Islands Still Evolving: Giant Daisies Rewrite the Rules of Evolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Charles<\/a>Charles Darwin (1809\u20131882) was a British naturalist whose work transformed biology by providing a unifying explanation for the diversity of life. Through observations made during his voyage on the HMS Beagle, he developed the theory of evolution by natural selection, proposing that species change over time as heritable traits that improve survival and reproduction become more common. Credit: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Gal\u00e1pagos plants show repeated evolution and emerging species, emphasizing evolution\u2019s flexibility and active role today.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Gal\u00e1pagos Islands have long stood as a living laboratory of evolution, but their story is far from finished. Nearly two centuries after Darwin\u2019s famous finches reshaped our understanding of life, new research reveals that evolution on these remote islands is still unfolding in unexpected ways.<\/p>\n

When Charles Darwin arrived in 1835 aboard the HMS Beagle, he collected birds that he later studied in England. At first, he thought they included sparrows, woodpeckers, finches, and even a single tit. He later realized they were all closely related finches, with differences in their beaks reflecting adaptations to different diets.<\/p>\n

This became a classic example of parallel evolution, where similar traits emerge more than once but through different genetic routes.<\/p>\n

Darwin\u2019s observations of these finches helped support his theory of evolution by natural selection, showing how species can change over time in response to their environments.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than 150 years after Darwin\u2019s work on the Gal\u00e1pagos transformed our understanding of life on Earth, these islands continue to reveal new biology,\u201d says Professor Michael D. Martin at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology\u2019s (NTNU) University Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"HerbariumHerbarium sheet with Scalesia incisa collected by Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle in the Gal\u00e1pagos Islands from 1831-1836. Credit: GBIF, Cambridge University Herbarium (CGE) collectionOngoing Discoveries in Gal\u00e1pagos Science<\/p>\n

Martin is part of a global research team that includes scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; the University of California, Davis; the University of Copenhagen; the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Gal\u00e1pagos; the University of Georgia, Athens; the University of British Columbia; and other institutions. Together, they examined evolution in the plant genus Scalesia, often called the Gal\u00e1pagos giant daisies. Their findings were recently published in Nature Communications.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like Darwin\u2019s famous finches, these plants evolved rapidly after arriving on the Gal\u00e1pagos from mainland South America,\u201d says Vanessa Bieker of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the study\u2019s lead author.<\/p>\n

The Scalesia genus is relatively young, with all existing species emerging within the past one million years. Despite this short timespan, they have adapted to a wide range of island environments, from humid highland forests to dry lowland areas.<\/p>\n

\"SerratedPlants in the genus Scalesia have evolved adaptive traits multiple times, but not always using the same genes. The photo shows the serrated leaves of Scalesia affinis (radiate-headed scalesia). Credit: Michael Martin, NTNU University Museum<\/p>\n

\u201cThe appearance of different species varies dramatically, from low shrubs to tall trees. Most striking are the leaves, which range from large and entire to small and deeply lobed,\u201d says Martin.<\/p>\n

Leaf Adaptations and Genetic Mysteries<\/p>\n

Lobed leaves, often with complex and jagged edges, are believed to help these plants cope with heat and dryness by limiting water loss and improving heat release. Until now, scientists did not know how this trait developed at the genetic level.<\/p>\n

By sequencing the full genomes of all known Scalesia species, the team found that lobed leaves evolved multiple times, appearing independently in different branches of the family tree.<\/p>\n

\"Gal\u00e1pagosA Gal\u00e1pagos National Park guide searching for Scalesia plants on Santa Cruz Island, Gal\u00e1pagos. New research shows how the island fuels parallel evolution, as Scalesia plants have evolved the same adaptive traits, but using different genes. Credit: Michael D. Martin, NTNU<\/p>\n

Some populations may already be on separate evolutionary paths. Many Scalesia groups could represent unique lineages that have not yet been formally classified as distinct species.<\/p>\n

Parallel Evolution and Genetic Pathways<\/p>\n

\u201cEven more surprising was that each time this trait evolved, it did so through different genes\u2014even though all of them belong to the same biological system controlling leaf development,\u201d says Bieker.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis provides a clear example of parallel evolution: nature arriving at the same solution multiple times, but through different genetic pathways. Instead of being controlled by a single \u2018master gene,\u2019 evolution appears to draw on an entire network of interacting genes, tweaking different components to produce similar outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CloseClose-up of serrated leaves of Scalesia affinis (radiate-headed scalesia). Credit: Michael Martin, NTNU University MuseumRepeated Trait Evolution and Ongoing Speciation<\/p>\n

These findings offer new insight into how complex traits can evolve repeatedly in nature.<\/p>\n

The study also shows that evolution in these plants is still happening today.<\/p>\n

\u201cPopulations within the same species show large genetic differences and have been isolated from one another for long periods. This means new species may be in the process of forming. Many Scalesia populations may represent distinct evolutionary lineages that have not yet been formally described,\u201d says Martin.<\/p>\n

Conservation Implications and Evolution in Action<\/p>\n

The researchers suggest that each isolated population should be treated as its own conservation unit, which could change how the Gal\u00e1pagos ecosystem is protected in the future. Their work also provides a detailed view of how a single species can quickly branch into many distinct forms.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur findings highlight the flexibility and creativity of evolution,\u201d says Bieker.<\/p>\n

She notes that Darwin also collected many plant specimens during his time in the Gal\u00e1pagos. Seventy-eight of these were later identified as entirely new species, including four types of Scalesia.<\/p>\n

Reference: \u201cThe genomic basis of adaptive leaf variation in the Gal\u00e1pagos giant daisies\u201d by Vanessa C. Bieker, Siyu Li, Jos\u00e9 Cerca, Paul Battlay, Mohsen Falahati Anbaran, Amit Sharma, Patricia Jaramillo D\u00edaz, Mario Fern\u00e1ndez-Mazuecos, Jazm\u00edn Ramos-Madrigal, Sarah L. F. Martin, Luisa Santos-Bay, Gitte Petersen, Ole Seberg, Pablo Vargas, Rasmus Nielsen, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Gonzalo Rivas-Torres, James Leebens-Mack, Loren H. Rieseberg, Lene R. Nielsen, Neelima Sinha and Michael D. Martin, 16 April 2026, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038\/s41467-026-71865-3<\/a><\/p>\n

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