Adaptive Radiation: The development of a variety of species from a single ancestral form; occurs when a new habitat becomes available to a population. Evolutionary pattern of divergence of a great many taxa from a common ancestral species as a result of novel adaptations or a recent mass extinction. Examples: mammals during the Cenozoic Era after the extinction of dinosaurs at the close of the Mesozoic Era flowering plants during the Cretaceous Period diversified because of their reproductive advantages over gymnosperm and non-seed plants that dominated the floras of the world at that time.

 

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Adaptive Radiation: The development of a variety of species from a single ancestral form; occurs when a new habitat becomes available to a population. Evolutionary pattern of divergence of a great many taxa fro . . . View Full Definition

Radiation Fog: Fog that is created when radiational cooling at the earth's surface lowers the temperature of the air near the ground to or below its dew point. Formation is best when there is a shallow sur . . . View Full Definition

Radiation Hybrid: A hybrid cell containing small fragments of irradiated human chromosomes. Maps of irradiation sites on chromosomes for the human, rat, mouse, and other genomes provide important markers, all . . . View Full Definition

Radiational Cooling: The cooling of the earth's surface and the adjacent air. Although it occurs primarily at night, it happens when the earth's surface suffers a net loss of heat due to outgoing radiation.