Punctuated equilibrium is more likely to be correct, because all living things (except maybe archaea) have a genetic buffering mechanism whih means that minor mutations often are only expressed in times of great stress. This means that when there’s an environmental change, mutations which were already present but hiden are suddenly expressed, increasing the species’ range of options for dealing with the stress by increasing the number of different forms.
If, however, you live somethwere where the climate is changing constantly but slowly – such as a river delta which is silting up – then you’ll get gradualism.
Punctuated equilibrium is more likely to be correct, because all living things (except maybe archaea) have a genetic buffering mechanism whih means that minor mutations often are only expressed in times of great stress. This means that when there’s an environmental change, mutations which were already present but hiden are suddenly expressed, increasing the species’ range of options for dealing with the stress by increasing the number of different forms.
If, however, you live somethwere where the climate is changing constantly but slowly – such as a river delta which is silting up – then you’ll get gradualism.