What can adaptive radiation lead to in evolutionary terms?

Adaptive radiation is an evolutionary process that occurs when organisms diversify rapidly from an ancestral species into a wide variety of forms to adapt to different environments or ecological niches. This process often happens when there are new resources or new challenges available in the environment.

The correct answer, divergence, refers to how adaptive radiation leads to the formation of new species that are adapted to different ecological niches. As populations of a single ancestor evolve in different ways to exploit varied habitats, they accumulate differences over time. This is evident in many examples, such as the Galápagos finches, where different species evolved distinct beak shapes suited for different food sources.

In contrast, the other choices do not accurately capture the outcome of adaptive radiation. Recombination involves the mixing of genetic material and does not directly relate to the diversification of species in varied environments. Convergence refers to the process where unrelated species develop similar traits due to adapting to similar environments, which is the opposite of what adaptive radiation demonstrates. Extinction is the end of a species, which is generally not a product of adaptive radiation but rather a potential consequence of environmental pressures and competition.