What is punctuated equilibrium?

Question

What is punctuated equilibrium?

Answer 1

1) Description of punctuated equilibrium - American Heritage® Dictionary

NOUN: The theory that speciation occurs in spurts of major genetic alterations that punctuate long periods of little change.

2) Punctuated equilibrium is a theory of evolutionary biology which states that most sexually reproducing populations experience little change for most of their geological history, and that when phenotypic evolution does occur, it is localized in rare, rapid events of branching speciation (called cladogenesis).

Answer 2

Punctuated equilibrium in the context of evolutionary biology is the idea that evolution occurs in short, rare bursts rather than constant, gradual accumulation of changes.

Answer 3

I don't know, but it sounds like it might hurt!  Yikes!

Answer 4

punctuated equilibrium means when evolution does not have any drastic change (it is very consistent throughout many centuries). Then, all the sudden the species that once existed changed completely!