Answer to Question #175318 in Biology for Aliya

Question

Speciation is the formation of a new species. Answer the following questions.

a.     You are having a conversation with Cindy, the magic turtle. Cindy is very curious about the formation of species. She tells you excitedly how one species of turtle inhabited the same geographical area, but ended up forming two different species over time. She admits she is a bit surprised by this; she thought that populations needed to be geographically separated from each other in order to form two different species. Explain to Cindy how speciation can occur without geographical separation. Name the type of pathway to speciation that occurred in this case. (3 marks)

Speciation can occur without geographical separation through sympatric speciation. Sympatric speciation is best defined as, when two populations share the same geographic area. Ecological isolation can reduce gene flow, and mutations can lead to genetic isolation. 

 is my answer correct?

Answer 1

Yes. The answer is correct. Speciation occurs even without geographical isolation if other mechanisms of the species separation are present, for example, reproductive or habitual isolations.