Question

What is speciation and the factors contributing to speciation with explanation and examples

Answer 1

Hi,

The process by which a new species develops from the existing species is known as speciation.

Factors that affect the process of speciation are:

Geographical isolation –

• Caused by various types of barriers such as mountain ranges, rivers and seas.
• Leads to reproductive isolation due to which there is no flow of genes between separated groups of population.

Genetic drift –

• Caused by drastic changes in the frequencies of particular genes by chance alone
• Genetic drift with changes in the gene flow imposed by the isolation mechanism acts as an agent of speciation

Natural selection –

• Process of selection of characteristics which contributes to the fitness of survival of organisms
• Genetic variation within a population of organisms may cause some individuals to survive and reproduce more successfully than other
• Some Examples of Speciation

  You can see a lot of different examples of speciation in nature. Some of these different examples include:

• Hawthorn fly
• Three-spined sticklebacks
• Cichlid fishes in Lake Nagubago
• Tennessee cave salamanders
• Greenish Warbler
• Ensatina salamanders
• Larus gulls
• Petroica multicolor
• Drosophila
• Mayr bird fauna
• Finches
• Squirrels in the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon
• Apple maggot
• Faeroe Island house mouse
• Primula kewensis
• Croatian lizards

• Speciation can be natural and can occur as a normal part of the evolutionary process. Artificial speciation is also possible and can be created by laboratory experiments or through agriculture and animal husbandry. Fruit flies are a primary example of artificial speciation. Another well-known example is domestic sheep.