Question

Will geographical isolation be a major factor in the speciation of an organism that reproduces asexually? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Geographical isolation is a major factor in the speciation of organisms that reproduce sexually because it interrupts with gene flow. In most of the cases, gene flow must be stopped so that sub-populations become genetically isolated. Changes in allele and genotype frequencies within the populations, as a result of the effect of natural selection on the range of phenotypes produced by mutation and sexual recombination, lead to the formation of races and subspecies. Continued genetic isolation leads to the formation of new species.

However, geographical isolation may not have any effect in case of self-pollinating or asexually reproducing plant species as they do not depend on other organisms for reproduction.