If Charles Darwin could meet Peter and Rosemary Grant, he could see how wrong he was. Darwin believed that evolution only could be seen over millions of years. He was wrong about the time frame, as the Grants proved Darwin’s premise about natural selection in a single season. And sexual selection in the next. How could the Grants accomplish what dozens of scientists could not do before? The Grants spent 21 years on certain of the Galapagos Islands, devising experiments, taking measurements, and crunching data. One year, a terrible drought destroyed 95% of the island’s female finches, 75% of the males, and 100% of a planned doctoral thesis. But scientists like to adapt to the world as it is. Were they able to prove Darwin’s theory of natural selection on why some lived and some died? The following year, with a 5:1 ratio of males to females, those females could choose. Which males would be the lucky ones to mate, and why? Does this prove Darwin’s theory of sexual selection? What experiments came next? Given the actual food supply available, can a computer make predictions about the evolution of the birds there? Did the Grants answer one of the great mysteries that troubled Darwin—what is the Origin of a Species? Why are the 17 Darwin’s finches spread so non –randomly throughout the Galapagos? If evolution was glimpsed so vividly in just a few years, why was this experience such a rare event? Or is it? What do their findings mean for today’s political debates? You can find these answers in one of the best books I have ever read, Jonathan Weiner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, The Beak of the Finch. This book answers many more questions, and it reads like a mystery novel. Or, you can hear directly from Peter and Rosemary Grant on November 2. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science and Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory are co-sponsoring the Grant’s presentation at 7:00 at the museum. Or, you can read the book first and see the Grants later. Do both, and be ready for a fascinating evening on November 2. For more information, go to www.rmbo.org. On the home page, under Upcoming Events, is a link to “The Evolution of Darwin’s Finches.” See you at the museum. Larry Modesitt Chairman, Board of Directors Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory
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