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What is punctuated evolution?

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Erica Lakin

Lvl 10
5y ago
Updated: 7/27/2021

Punctuated Equilibria is a theory proposed by Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge to explain patterns of speciation in the fossil record. They pointed out that the record seems to show most species undergo long periods of relatively little change (stasis), then undergo rapid bursts of change at irregular (punctuated) intervals. Evolution did not seem to proceed at a stately, constant, slow speed. Gould and Eldredge explained this by taking the standard idea of how species form (allopatric speciation, or speciation in small isolated groups at the periphery of populations) and showing that this process would produce exactly the pattern which is observed in the fossil record. Essentially, evolution and speciation can occur rapidly in small isolated populations, sometimes too quickly for the fossil record to track all of the intermediate forms. The result is what looks like abrupt emergence of forms with little or no transitional stages, when in reality the evolution had occurred through intermediate stages, only too quickly for the slow process of fossilization to capture it.

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Ahmad Baumbach

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4y ago

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Related Questions

What is fast and abrupt evolution?

Punctuated equilibrium.


What is a model of evolution in which short periods of drastic changes in species are separated by long periods of little or no change?

Punctuated Equilibrium, I believe is the answer.


What cannot be the result of punctuated equilibrium?

Punctuated equilibrium is a theory in evolution that suggests long periods of stability with sudden bursts of significant change. Therefore, gradual and continuous evolution is not a characteristic outcome of punctuated equilibrium.


What term do you use to describe evolution happening in quick burst?

Punctuated equilibrium describes evolution happening in rapid bursts rather than gradually over time.


What is evolution that occurs in short rapid bursts?

Punctuated equilibrium


What is the model for the slow process of evolution?

Gradualism (as opposed to punctuated equilibrium).


What do gradualism and punctuated equilibrium have in common?

Punctuated equilibrium is commonly contrasted against phyletic gradualism, the belief that evolution generally occurs uniformly and by the steady and gradual transformation of whole lineages (called anagenesis). In this view, evolution is seen as generally smooth and continuous.


A pattern of rapid evolutionary changes followed by long periods of no change is described as?

Punctuated Evolution or equilibrium


Pattern of evolution where a spicies is stable for a long time then rapidly changes?

This pattern is known as punctuated equilibrium, which proposes that species remain relatively unchanged for long periods, punctuated by short bursts of rapid evolution. It suggests that evolution occurs in sporadic bursts of speciation rather than constant gradual change.


What is the rapid evolution that can come about by the mutation of just a few genes'?

Punctuated equilibrium


Compare and contrast gradulism and punctuated equilibrium?

Gradualism proposes that evolution occurs at a constant, slow rate over long periods of time, leading to gradual change in species. Punctuated equilibrium suggests that evolution is marked by long periods of stability punctuated by sudden bursts of rapid change. Both theories address the pace of evolution but differ in the pattern of change they propose.


How do gradualism and punctuated equilibrium similar?

Both gradualism and punctuated equilibrium are theories of evolution that describe the pace at which species evolve over time. Both theories acknowledge that evolution occurs, albeit at different rates. Gradualism posits slow, continuous changes over long periods, while punctuated equilibrium suggests that long periods of stability are punctuated by sudden bursts of rapid change. Both theories emphasize the importance of natural selection in driving evolution.