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Evolution in Action
Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant
Subjects of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Beak of the Finch, Peter and Rosemary Grant discuss their 20 years of fascinating research into evolution, ecology and behavior among Darwin’s finches of the Galápagos Islands. Distinguished Visiting Fellows in the College of Creative Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, the Grants are professors at Princeton University. On an island characterized by sheer cliffs and no fresh water, and devoid of human interference into natural selection, the Grants documented some 13 species of “Darwin’s Finches,” including one that is flightless; one that cohabits with marine iguanas; one (the vampire finch) that lives on blood; one that is entirely vegetarian; and one (the cactus finch) that makes tools with its beak. The Grants began their investigation of evolutionary change among Darwin’s Finches in 1973. They have studied more than 20 generations of finches–more than 19,000 individual birds. The Galápagos finches have been perfect objects of study because of their t.Program recording date & length: 5-21-01 • 1 Hour 26 Minutes
