In the early nineteenth century, the French scientist Georges Cuvier provided conclusive evidence of the extinction of species on Earth. Although Cuvier correctly asserted that a series of catastrophes led to these extinctions, he could not provide a

Question

testable explanation of the source of the new animals and plants that appeared after the extinction of older forms. How would you argue that modern evolutionary theory provides an explanation for the proliferation of new forms of life after mass extinctions?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Evolutionary theory states that new species can be produced through adaptive radiation. Mass extinctions leave many newly open niches in an environment, and this allows for a species to come into the environment, and then adaptation leads to the diversification of a group of organisms to fill the new environmental niches.