Biology Cycle 8 - Speciation Flashcards
What is the morphological species concept?
all individuals of a species share visible anatomical characteristics that distinguish them from individuals of other species
Which species concept distinguishes fossils? Why?
morphological species concept because you can observe external traits
What are the issues with the morphological species concept?
- Individuals of the SAME SPECIES look different physically (colour and size)
- Cannot distinuish closely related species that are nearly IDENTICAL in appearance
- No indication of evolutionary processes causing new species
What is the biological species concept?
- “species” based on the ability of populations to INTERBREED
- produce FERTILE offspring under natural conditions
How does the biological species concept fix the issues from the morphological species concept?
- defining species in terms of population genetics and evolutionary theory
- Why do species share anatomical features? – gene pool shared
What are the two principles of the biological species concept?
- Genetic cohesiveness-Species mix genetic infoin a gene pool
- Genetic Distinctiveness- different species are reproductively isolated So they can’t exchange genetic info
Which species is the biological species concept useful for?
sexually reproducing species
What are the issues with the biological species concept?
- asexually reproducing species (bacteria, archaeans, plants) – they do not breed
- extinct species (no data on reproductive habits)
- difficult to observe every species (aquatic or micro organisms)
What is the phylogenetic species concept?
- cluster of populations that emerge from sharing a recent evolutionary history
What’s an advantage of phylogenetic species concept?
can be applied to living AND extinct species as well as asexually reproducing species
create tree using phenotypic and genotypic data
What is a disadvantage of the phylogenetic species concept?
- must decide how much evolutionary change defines a new species
- species are preferably monophyletic (one common ancestory)
- difficult to apply to rare or fossilized species becuase genetic info cannot be extracted
- homoplaisies
What are homoplaisies? Which species concept do they interfere with?
- species tust evolve similar traits seperately due to evolutionary agents and not because of common ancestry
- convergent evolution interferes with PSC
Why is it less likely for gene flow to occur between distant populations?
different environmental conditions that experience different patterns of selection so their gene pools and phenotypes are different even if they are the same species
What is a subspecies?
a taxonomic subdivision of a species that are local (of the same area)
When is a subspecies identified?
a geographically separated population of a species exhibits drastic, phenotypic variation that is easily recognizable
Can subspecies interbreed? What would their offspring look like?
Yes! Their offspring often exhibit INTERMEDIATE phenotypes
What are ring species?
species with a geographical distribution that forms a ring around inhabitable terrain
How does genetic variation occur in ring species?
adjacent populations can directly have sex but gene flow between distant populations require intermediary populations to have sex
What us clinal variation?
a pattern of smooth variation in a characteristic along a geographical gradient
How does clinal variation occur?
gene flow between adjacent populations that are each adapting to slightly different conditions
In clinal variation, what occurs to populations at opposite ends of the gradient?
separate by great distances so they may exchange very little genetic material through reproduction
What are the reproductive isolating mechanisms
a biological characteristic that prevents the gene pools of two species from mixing
What is a hybrid?
an organism produced by a mating between parents of different species or subspecies
When do pre zygotic isolating mechanisms occur? When do post zygotic mechanisms occur?
pre zygotic - prior to production of a zygote
post zygotic - after zygote formation
PREZYGOTIC MECHANISMS
Ecological isolation - species live in different habitats in the same region
Temporal isolation - species breed at different times
Behavioural isolation - species cannot communicate
Mechanical isolation - species cannot physically mate
Gametic isolation - species have nonmatching receptors