Answer to Question #176273 in Biology for Sara

Question

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. 

*** I need to know if my answer is correct. As i have an assignment that is due tomorrow.

Answer 1

Several types of isolation can lead to speciation: reproductive isolation, geographic isolation, behavioral isolation, etc. As a result, even the absence of geographical isolation may lead to speciation due to genetic isolation. So, the answer is correct.