speciation Flashcards
1
Q
explain the impact of wallace and darwin’s ideas on biology
A
- contributed to how we understand speciation today
2
Q
what did wallace do?
A
- independently proposed theory of evolution by natural selection
- published joint writings with darwin in 1858 which prompted darwin to publish his book in 1859
- worked worldwide gathering evidence for evolutionary theory
3
Q
what is wallace best known for?
A
his work on warning colouration in animals and his theory of speciation
4
Q
what has lead to our current understanding of speciation?
A
more evidence over time
5
Q
describe the steps of speciation
A
- isolation occurs due to a geographical barrier, separating populations of a species
- conditions on either side of the barrier will be slightly different e.g different climates, food
- as the environment is different on each side, different alleles will become more common, favoured due to natural selection
- eventually individuals will have changed so much that they won’t be able to breed with one another to produce fertile offspring
6
Q
what is speciation?
A
the development of a new species
7
Q
when does speciation occur?
A
when populations of the same species become so different they can no longer successfully interbreed to produce fertile offspring
8
Q
what is a species?
A
a group of organisms that are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring
