Species Concept and Mechanics of Speciation Flashcards
making of species
speciation
species diverge gradually over time in small steps
gradual speciation model
a new species changes quickly from the parent species and then remains largely unchanged for long periods of time afterward
punctuated equilibrium model
all species on earth thought to share a single __ __
common ancestor
when did life arise
3.8 billion years ago
speciation is the generation of __ __ __
species level diversity
what processes lead to genetic differences sufficint to create a new species
- Natural selection
- Mutation
external
natural selection
internal
mutation
may have occured billions of times in the last 3.8 billion years
speciation
all cultures recognize different forms (species) and name them
naming
different species in groups
classifying
the challenge of scientists is to name and classify species in a testable way
system
number of living species may be as great as ____
100 million
is the evolutionary biology subfield that deals with taxonomy, understanding speciation, describing species, inferring phylogenies, and similar endeavors
systematics
what is a species
smallest independently evolving unit
When does independent evolution occur
- mutation
- selection
- gene flow
- genetic drift
operate indpendently in different populations
change in the DNA sequence of an organism
mutation
process in nature by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more than those less adapted to their environment
Natural selection
- transfer of genetic material from one population to another
- can take place between two populations of the same species through migration, and is mediated by reproduction and vertical gene transfer from parent to offspring
Gene flow
- change in frequency of an existing gene variant in the population due to random chance
- may cause gene variants to disappear completely and thereby reduce genetic variation
- cause initially rare alleles to become much more frequent, and even fixed
Genetic Drift
Four basic species concept
- Biological Species Concept
- Morphological Species Concept
- Ecological Species Concept
- Evolutionary Species Concept
- defines a species taxon as a group of organisms that can successfully interbreed and produce fertile offspring
- a species’ integrity is maintained by interbreeding within a species as well as by reproductive barriers between organisms in different species
Biological Species Concept
Problems with Biological Species Concept
- is irrelevant to allopatric speciation
- inapplicable to:
(1) fossil species
(2) organisms reproducing asexually or with extensive self-fertilization
(3) sexual organisms with open mating systems (species that freely hybridize)
defines species as groups of individuals that are morphologically similar to one another and are morphologically distinct from other such groups
morphological species concept
advantages of morphological species concept
- traditional and simple
- applicable for living and extinct
- applicable for asexual and sexual
- on-spot (ready to use as reference)
disadvantages of morphological species concept
- cryptic species (comprise two or more taxa under single name)
- does not address genetic differences
- concept of species in which a species is a set of organisms adapted to a particular set of resources, called a niche, in the environment
ecological species concept
describes the role an organism plays in a community
niche
species integrity in ecological species concept is not so much maintained by __ __, but by selection to adapt to each species to its niche
reproductive isolation