Outline the process of adaptive radiation.

There has been a change of thinking; moving from gradualism to punctuated equilibrium demonstrates the changing nature of science. Discuss these two ideas about the pace of evolution.

varied members of a single species occupy a variety of niches / migration of a species to an area with a variety of niches;
natural selection/selection pressure will be different in various niches causing adaptation of groups to the varied niches;
results in many species from one ancestral species;
reproductive isolation enhances adaptive radiation;
adaptive radiation results in speciation;

in gradualism evolution occurs at a constant pace;
fossil records of gradual change with intermediate forms support this theory;
evolution of modern horse/another suitable example seems to support this view;
in punctuated equilibrium evolution proceeds rapidly for short periods of time intermittent with long periods of little change/stability;
gaps in the fossil record/lack of intermediate forms support the idea of punctuated equilibrium;
strata in the fossil record with appearance of many new species following a mass extinction supports the idea of punctuated equilibrium;

Adaptive radiation was very poorly answered.

Quite a few candidates got the two definitions right, but not the discussion part.