If Darwin went to the Channel Islands instead of the Galapagos, would he have found the same things?

Essay by jasonlee1037Junior High, 7th gradeA+, March 2006

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Yes, because Natural Selection applies to any place that apart from the mainland. The Channel Islands can very much relate to the Galapagos Islands because of the large number of diversity and endemic species. For example, if Darwin had looked at the Island Grey Fox, instead of the finches, he would have found out the same things. During the last Ice Age, when sea levels were much lower and the Santa Barbara channel was much narrower, the California grey foxes came over and arrived "on Santarosae, a single landmass consisting of what are today the three northern islands" on debris from the mainland by riding on the currents during storms (Lambert). Since it was an island, grey fox had a hard time surviving on the limited sources of food, and water. The grey foxes needed to become smaller. So, when a runt was born, it survived better and passed down its lucky trait down to its offspring, resulting in a different species, the present-day Island Grey Fox. The water levels later rose and separated one fox population from another. Also, Humans also transported them to three of the other islands. These foxes altered their characteristics within the species to create subspecies; their differences include size color, and tail bones.