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Modern research has affirmed that this is indeed how the enormous
diversity of organisms arose.
The forks in the great Tree of Life were caused by speciation, the
process by which one species gives rise to two.
What is a species?
First two steps are thought to take place over time and while
populations were located in different geographic areas; the
final phase when the diverged populations came back into
physical contact
Of course, this isn't universally true – the third phase may not
occur, and populations might have been isolated at the same
time and the same place
Mechanisms of isolation
Two mechanisms:
Dispersal – e.g. a population rides a boat to another place and end up
colonizing it
Vicariance – an existing range is split by the appearance of a physical
barrier, e.g. a road or a river
Isolation by dispersal and vicariance. (a) Dispersal: arrows indicate movement
of individuals. (b) Vicariance: arrows indicate an encroaching physical feature
such as a river, glacier, lava flow, or new habitat.
Mechanisms of isolation: geographic isolation
This pattern is
consistent with the
hypothesis that at
least some of the
speciation events in
this group were the
result of island
hopping.
Mechanisms of isolation: geographic isolation
Other examples:
Difference in pollinators
one monkeyflower species is visited by a
hummingbird, the other by a bee; but never both
pollinators, so the pollen are not deposited on the
flower of the other species
Temporal isolation
the Japanese winter moth (Inurois punctigera) has
two populations that reproduce during different
times
Anatomical reproductive incompatibility
The snail Euhadra can be "left-handed" or "right-
handed"
If a mutation caused "left" offspring to become
"right," they could not mate with "left" because
their genitals openings don't line up
Mechanisms of divergence
Traits that influence the way species choose mates can lead
to assortative mating, in which individuals with certain traits
more often choose mates that share those same traits.
T. miscellus T. mirus
n=12 n=12
Hybridization outcomes: hybrid speciation
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