How scientists may save Darwin’s Galápagos finches from extinction

by Eva Botwin-Kowacki

Small birds played an important role in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Darwin’s study of finches he had collected in the Galápagos Islands helped him identify speciation, or how new biological species appear.

Today, Darwin’s finches are in danger. A parasitic fly that appeared on the islands just a couple decades ago could drive the finch populations to extinction, say researchers.

But “it’s not all gloom and doom,” University of Utah parasitologist Dale Clayton tells The Christian Science Monitor in an interview. A reduction of nests infested by the fly by just 40 percent should alleviate the risk of extinction, he says.

Read more by clicking on the name of the source below.