Natural selection and Speciation Flashcards
What is speciation?
It’s the development of a new species.
What is geographical isolation?
Occurs when a physical barrier divides a population of a species. The conditions on both sides of the barrier differ and due to these differences, different phenotypes will become more common due to natural selection. On each side, allele frequencies will vary, for example if one allele is more advantageous on one side of the barrier, the number of that allele will increase. The individuals from different populations will have changed so much to suit their environment, that they won’t be able to breed with one another to produce fertile offspring which results in them becoming reproductively isolated, eventually ending up with 2 groups of separate species.
