AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Punctuated equilibrium is a theory that states that evolution occurs primarily through short bursts of intense speciation, followed by lengthy periods of stasis or equilibrium. The model postulates that nearly 99% of a species’ time on earth is spent in stasis, and change happens very quickly.

Detailed explanation-2: -Stasis is frequently associated with the theory of punctuated equilibrium, in which most evolutionary change is concentrated during the phylogenetic branching of lineages in very rapid bursts of speciation. Much longer episodes of relative morphological invariance, or stasis, follow speciation events.

Detailed explanation-3: -However, punctuated equilibrium is any sudden, rapid change in a species and can also be the result of other causes, such as huge and sudden changes in the environment that result in more rapid changes in the organisms through harsher selection.

Detailed explanation-4: -The theory of punctuated equilibrium states that evolutionary change is characterised by short periods of rapid evolution followed by longer periods of stasis in which no change occurs.

Detailed explanation-5: -When significant evolutionary change occurs, the theory proposes that it is generally restricted to rare and geologically rapid events of branching speciation called cladogenesis.