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Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Speciation can proceed at markedly different rates, and evolutionary biologists commonly describe these differences through the models of gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. Both patterns explain how new species arise, but they differ in the tempo and continuity of evolutionary change. In both cases, evolutionary change arises from heritable variation within populations, with natural selection often shaping traits that improve survival and reproduction under specific environmental conditions.

The Evidence for Evolution

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Natural Selection and Adaptation

Natural Selection and Adaptation

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Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the human psyche...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2026

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications

Published on: January 19, 2018

Relating Rates of Global Change, Evolutionary Adaptation, and Extinction.

Daniel H Rothman¹, Sergei Petrovskii²

¹Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lorenz Center, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.

Physical Review Letters

|July 10, 2026

Summary

Species extinction is linked to environmental change. This study reveals a critical adaptation rate threshold, suggesting macroevolution shapes biodiversity

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Area of Science:

Paleontology
Evolutionary Biology
Climate Science

Background:

The prevailing hypothesis posits that extinction results from environmental change exceeding species' adaptive capacity.
Empirical support for this hypothesis at the global scale is limited due to unknown species adaptation rate distributions.

Purpose of the Study:

To model the distribution of species adaptation rates and their relationship to extinction.
To test if extinction rates correlate with environmental change, specifically global carbon-cycle shifts.

Main Methods:

Formulated a general model to predict the distribution of adaptation rates across species.
Derived a sigmoidal relationship between extinction rate and environmental change rate based on adaptation thresholds.
Analyzed fossil record extinction rates against global carbon-cycle change.

Main Results:

A precise sigmoidal relationship was identified between extinction rate and environmental change rate.
Fossil record extinction rates exhibit a sigmoidal response to global carbon-cycle change, mirroring model predictions.
Inferred adaptation rates align with extreme environmental change rates, suggesting macroevolutionary adaptation.

Conclusions:

The distribution of species' adaptation rates acts as a series of critical thresholds influencing extinction.
Macroevolution may synchronize diverse adaptation rates with environmental forcing, determining biosphere sensitivity.
Current environmental change rates approach, but are below, levels of maximal extinction susceptibility.