What evolutionary process involves the diversification of an ancestral species into multiple new species?

Adaptive radiation is the evolutionary process that occurs when an ancestral species diversifies rapidly into a variety of new species, typically in response to different environmental challenges or niches. This phenomenon often happens after a key event such as mass extinction, colonization of new habitats, or significant changes in the environment that create new opportunities for the organisms.

In adaptive radiation, the original species can evolve into multiple forms, each adapted to a specific way of life or ecological niche. A classic example of this is the Darwin's finches on the Galápagos Islands, which evolved from a common ancestor into various species, each with distinct beak shapes and sizes suited to their particular feeding strategies.

The other concepts, while related to evolution, do not specifically refer to this process of rapid diversification. Speciation refers more broadly to the formation of new and distinct species but does not inherently involve the rapid diversification of an ancestral species into multiple new ones. Convergent evolution describes how unrelated species develop similar traits due to similar environmental pressures, not diversification from a single ancestor. Microevolution focuses on small-scale changes within a population’s gene pool over time, which may not lead to the formation of new species.