The study focused on the shape of the bird’s beak and its’ associated gene, the ALX1 gene. Blood samples were gathered from 120 captured finches and grouped by location; the Galápagos and Cocos Islands and
Once the samples were collected, the groups were released back to their original location. Genetic analysis was performed in the laboratory using the Genome Analysis Toolkit .
Team Findings
Lamichhaney’s team of scientists reported finding “important discrepancies with the phenotype-based taxonomy.” Specifically, the shape and size of the beak, also known as the “phenotype,” did not correspond to the ALX1 gene, known as the genotype, as predicted by Darwin’s theory.
Rather than finding genetic differences between presumed distinct species, the evidence indicates gene sharing. As Lamichhaney explains –
“Extensive sharing of genetic variation among populations was evident, particularly among ground and tree finches, with almost no fixed differences between species in each group.”
A pattern of “slight, successive” evolutionary changes, as predicted by Darwin, was not observed. The evidence points to interbreeding rather than speciation. Gene flow between the groups is compatible with interbreeding. As the investigators reported –
“We find extensive evidence for interspecific gene flow [interbreeding] throughout the radiation [groups].”
Noting the “considerable amount of genetic diversity [variability] within each population,” the investigators issue the following warning –
“The exact branching order of the… ground and tree finches should be interpreted with caution.”
Geoffry Mohan writing for the Los Angeles Times reported that the “species that were genetically similar on one island were not as closely related on others… [that] can be interpreted as evidence of interbreeding.”
Interbreeding can only produce fertile offspring within a single species. Based on the genetics of Darwin’s finches, then, the evidence points to a variable single species population on the Galápagos Islands.
Corroborates Findings
Lamichhaney corroborates the findings of previous investigations. Stephen O’Brien (pictured left), Genome 10K Project co-founder, had earlier anticipated in 2012 that “the genome sequence empowerment of Darwin’s finches will initiate the solving of evolutionary riddles that have puzzled biologists for a century.”
Even though the Genome 10K Project had announced that “scientists have sequenced the genome of one of the iconic Galapagos finches as described by Darwin,” the Genome 10K-Project has still not published any evidence to solve the problem.
Akie Sato of the Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie , Germany, a decade earlier in the paper entitled “Phylogeny of Darwin’s finches as revealed by mtDNA sequences ” failed to separate the finch populations into distinct sequential species, either –
“The traditional classification of ground finches into six species and tree finches into five species is not reflected in the molecular data.”
Peter and Rosemary Grant , the husband and wife team who had dedicated their professional careers to the study of Darwin’s finches, confirmed Sato’s observation. In their paper “Comparative landscape genetics and the adaptive radiation of Darwin’s finches ” published in the September 2005 issue of the Molecular Ecology
Genomic Revolution Overturning Evolution
“The genomic revolution [has]… effectively overturned the central metaphor of evolutionary biology, the Tree of Life,“ argues Eugene V. Koonin of the National Center for Biotechnology Information in his book The Logic of Chance
published in the journal Nature by Nipam H. Patel entitled “Evolutionary biology: How to build a longer beak.” However, Patel’s revision has the same problems as Darwin’s tree, common ancestry and transitional links, the defining features of evolution, have not been scientifically validated.
John Archibald of Dalhousie University in his book One Plus One Equals One “ the tree of life has come upon hard times… [with] the “overall picture emerging is one of mosaicism” – not one of the evolutionary changes of “one species… taken and modified” into a new species. Darwin’s dilemma intensifies .
Amazingly, David Baum and Stacey Smith in the book Tree Thinking, an Introduction to Phylogenetic Biology Genesis account of creation is not scientifically invalid – an inverted way to say that Genesis may have it right after all. The management of the scientific evidence from Darwin’s finches by the evolution industry has parallels to the twentieth-century version of the Piltdown man .
Genesis The genetics of Darwin’s finches fail to demonstrate any evidence of evolution resulting in speciation, as argued by Darwin. Concepts of biological evolution continue to be undermined by the genomic revolution. Rather than evolution, scientific evidence demonstrates a mosaic pattern of nature, a pattern compatible with the Genesis
Evidence from molecular biology to validate the theory of evolution scientifically still remains speculative.
Click to study further evolutionary perspectives on molecular biology and other crucial Evolution and Science categories.
Darwin Then and Now is an educational resource on the intersection of evolution and science and the challenges facing the theory of evolution.
Links
Glossary defines terms associated with explaining the theory of biological evolution.Understanding Evolution is a journey that showcases how different investigative approaches play a pivotal role in enriching our understanding of the process, leading to diverse conclusions.Studying Evolution delves into the terms species and natural selection and how they have changed since The Origin of Speci es was published in 1859.What is Science investigates Charles Darwin’s approach to science and how the principles of modern science are used for different investigative purposes.The Evolution and Science category features articles studying how the intersection of evolution and science influences the current understanding of evolution.
The Theory and Consensus category features articles examining how scientific findings are influencing the scientific consensus on the essential tenets of evolution, including Natural Selection .
The finches Charles Darwin encountered on the Galapagos Islands have served as one of the most enduring examples of evolution throughout the twentieth century.