Table of Contents

Speciation and its Consequences .................................................................................................... 2

Speciation ........................................................................................................................................ 2

Categories ....................................................................................................................................... 3

1. Allopatric Speciation ............................................................................................................... 3

2. Sympatric Speciation ............................................................................................................... 4

3. Artificial Speciation ................................................................................................................. 5

Consequences of Speciation ........................................................................................................... 6

1. Adaptive radiation ................................................................................................................... 6

2. Contribution to Biodiversity .................................................................................................... 7

3. Linking Speciation to Extinction ............................................................................................. 8

4. Speciation leads to Evolution .................................................................................................. 9

5. Existence of life on earth ....................................................................................................... 10

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 11

1
 Speciation and its Consequences

Speciation
Speciation, the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution. Speciation
involves the splitting of a single evolutionary lineage into two or more genetically independent
lineages.

Darwin envisioned speciation as a branching event. In fact, he considered it so important that he

depicted it in the only illustration of his famous book, On the Origin of Species, below left. A
modern representation of Darwin's idea is shown in the evolutionary tree of elephants and their
relatives, below right, which reconstructs speciation events during the evolution of this group.

Fig 1; Schematic representation of speciation

For speciation to occur, two new populations must be formed from one original population, and
they must evolve in such a way that it becomes impossible for individuals from the two new
populations to interbreed. Biologists often divide the ways that speciation can occur into two
broad categories:

 Allopatric speciation—allo meaning other and patric meaning homeland—involves geographic

separation of populations from a parent species and subsequent evolution.

2
 Sympatric speciation—sym meaning same and patric meaning homeland—involves speciation
occurring within a parent species remaining in one location.

Categories

1. Allopatric Speciation
Geographic isolation most often occurs with populations that are completely separated
(allopatry) by a physical barrier, such as a mountain range, river, or desert. The separated
populations adapt to their own unique environments, becoming so genetically different from one
another that members of one population cannot breed with members of the other. Examples of
allopatric speciation abound, and the process is considered the dominant form of speciation in
organisms that engage in sexual reproduction. Darwin’s fincheson the Galapagos Islands, which
may have speciated allopatrically because of volcanic eruptions that divided populations, is a
famous example.

Fig 2; Galapagos finches; an example of allotropic specitaion

3
 2. Sympatric Speciation
A controversial alternative to allopatric speciation is sympatric speciation, in which reproductive
isolation occurs within a single population without geographic isolation. In general, when
populations are physically separated, some reproductive isolation arises. How genetic divergence
can happen within a population of individuals that are continually interacting with one another is
usually difficult to explain. Examples of sympatric speciation are often disputed because they
must show convincing evidence of species descending from the same ancestral species, the
reproductive isolation of the group, and of allopatry not causing the speciation.
Nevertheless, sympatric speciation has been shown to have occurred in apple
maggot flies (Rhagoletis pomonella), a parasitic insect that laid its eggs in the fruit of
wild hawthorns (Crataegus) until one subset of the population began to lay its eggs in the fruit of
domesticated apple trees (Malus domestica) that grew in the same area. That small group of
apple maggot flies selected a different host species from the rest of its kind, and its offspring
became accustomed to domesticated apples and later laid their own eggs in them, thereby
cementing the shift in host.

Sympatric selection might also result from a combination of sexual selectionand ecological
factors. Studies of African cichlid fishes in Lake Nyasa and other lakes in the East African Rift
System record so-called species flocks (individuals of the same species that “flock” together in
one large assemblage) that have arisen in ecologically uniform lakes. Such a condition
substantially reduces the chances of allopatry being the cause of speciation, and it may result in
groups of females within a population developing a strong affinity for males with different
extreme phenotypic traits, such as scale markings and limbs that differ in size from average
individuals. Other studies suggest that sympatry among cichlid fishes also occurs in rivers
feeding the East African Rift System lakes, as well as in Nicaragua’s crater lakes.

4
 Fig 3; Sympatric selection among cichlid fishes

3. Artificial Speciation

Artificial speciation is the creation of new species by people. This is achieved through lab
experiments, where scientists mostly research insects like fruit flies.

Fig 4; Four major variants of speciation: allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric

5
Consequences of Speciation

Speciation of one species can affect the evolution of other species if they have a close
relationship in an ecosystem. When populations of different species come together to form a
community, they often depend on each other in some way for survival or to make life easier.
This is especially apparent in food webs and food chains and in particular predator and prey
relationships. If one of these species were to change, other species may also need to change.

An example of this coevolution or cospeciation could be the speed of a prey species. The prey
may accumulate adaptations that create larger leg muscles to help them run faster. If the predator
does not adapt, it may starve. Therefore, only faster predators, or perhaps stealthier predators,
will survive to pass down their favorable adaptations to their offspring. That means since the
prey evolved or became a new species, the predator had to also evolve or change.

1. Adaptive radiation
Adaptive radiation is a rapid increase in the number of species with a common ancestor,
characterized by great ecological and morphological diversity. The driving force behind it is the
adaptation of organisms to new ecological contexts. In adaptive radiation occurs when a single or
small group of ancestral species rapidly diversifies into a large number of descendant species
(speciation).

The diversity of Hawaiian honeycreepers results from adaptive radiation. It can even be said that
theirs is the most typical, most famous case of adaptive radiation studied by scientists. During
the course of evolution, their beaks have changed in size and morphology so that they are now
adapted to different diets: some species eat mostly animals (e.g. insects), others seeds or plants;
some feed in the trees, and others on the ground. Ultimately, it is the variety of environments and
food resources that led to the rapid differentiation of these species of finches. All these species
share a common ancestor and are now characterized by broad ecological (their diets are
different) and morphological (the size and shape of their beaks are different) diversity.

6
 Fig 5; Adaptive radiation in Hawaiian honeycreepers

2. Contribution to Biodiversity

Speciation is the ultimate source of new species, in the same way that mutation is the ultimate
source of genetic variation within species (and extinction is analogous to loss of alleles).
Inequities in the rates of speciation are thus likely to contribute to large scale biodiversity
patterns. It has often been proposed, in cases where some parts of the globe have excessive
numbers of species, that the taxa in those regions have experienced unusually high speciation
rates. Conversely, regions of the globe with fewer species are inferred to be speciation-limited.

7
 Fig 6; Multiple species of bird arising from a single species of bird, an example of biodiversity

For example, to explain the latitudinal gradient in species diversity, it is argued that speciation
rates were higher in the tropics than in the temperate zone, because of the greater opportunity for
co-evolution. However, diversity is the outcome of the difference between speciation and
extinction, not just speciation alone. New estimates of speciation rates in birds and mammals in
the recent past suggest that they are actually highest at temperate latitudes, even while net
diversification appears to be highest in the tropics. The implication is that lower extinction, not
higher speciation, is behind the faster accumulation of species in the tropics. On the other hand,
these estimated rates might be a temporary outcome of the turmoil of the Pleistocene glaciations,
and speciation rates may really have been higher in the tropics over the longer term.

3. Linking Speciation to Extinction

Many of the traits associated with elevated rates of speciation, including niche specialization and
having small and isolated populations, are similarly linked with an elevated risk of extinction.

The rates of speciation and extinction dictate the frequency at which new species arise and are
lost over evolutionary time. Characteristics of species that may promote speciation include being
highly specialized to particular environments, existing in isolated populations, or having a low
population abundance. These same traits are also associated with extinction: specialized species

8
are vulnerable to environmental change, species that exist in isolated pockets lack population
connectivity, and small populations can blink out rapidly. This suggests that lineages speciating
readily due to these traits may also readily lose species. Assessing whether speciation and
extinction rates are correlated is difficult, as measuring extinction based on fossils can be biased
for many groups. However, we are currently in the midst of observing numerous extinctions in
real time, and observing variation in the species currently at risk of extinction may serve as a
proxy measure for extinction rate across groups. In this study, we show in amphibians that
lineages that have high ongoing diversification also have a greater share of species threatened
with extinction compared to slowly diversifying groups. This supports the idea that speciation
and extinction may go hand‐in‐hand. Comparing this pattern in amphibians to other clades
reveals a surprising discrepancy: only plants have been found to show a similar pattern. One
mechanism that may produce this link between speciation and extinction could be the mode of
speciation–new species arising from isolated populations may be highly specialized, range‐
restricted, and vulnerable to extinction. In the grand scheme for amphibian conservation,
evolutionarily distinct species are less at risk of extinction—and therefore preserving the
amphibian tree of life can be achieved with modest conservation goals. If speciation and
extinction rise (and fall) in tandem, this might suggest that lineages may fall along a continuum
of producing few, long‐lived species, or many short‐lived species.

4. Speciation leads to Evolution

Natural selection is the phenomenon by which nature selects those species which possess
survival advantage over the other species. According to the theory of natural selection, there is a
struggle of existence within the species of a population for the environmental resources and their
struggle leads to survival of certain organisms and elimination of the less competent species. The
better-adapted organisms would, thus, survive and pass on their traits to next generation,
gradually leading to evolution. Speciation is a process of formation of new species from the
existing one due to reproductive isolation of a part of its population. This reproductive isolation
can occur due to geographical isolation of a part of the population. With time, the genetic drift
will accumulate different variations in each of the geographically separated sub-population.
Ultimately all the individuals of these two groups will isolate reproductively, thus, leading to the

9
formation and evolution of new species. Thus we can say that both natural selection and
speciation lead to the evolution of species on earth.

Fig 8; Speciation events during evolution

5. Existence of life on earth

Life on Planet Earth exists only because the circumstances — atmospheric conditions are
suitable and supports the survival and perpetuation of life forms. Over time these life forms
given the stable survival conditions have diversified to be able to survive in a more wide and
diversified ecological conditions. Speciation is one such diversification of life forms that not
only exploits the natural surroundings and also enriches ecological balance of abiotic and biotic
forms that are integral part of speciation.

10
Conclusion
Speciation can be seen through ecological, social, cultural point of view and from these diverse
dimensions it has multiple role and functions. Speciation is one direct consequence of biological
evolution, which resulted apart from other diverse animals and plants, the emergence of Man on
Earth. Speciation is also inter-and-intra dependent mutual co-existence of life on Earth, which is
one way keeps the balance and at equilibrium with the ecological conditions. Possibly because of
speciation, Man and other animals was able to survive on wide diverse food sources, and with all
the culture and science technology Man was able to build houses for survival and keep animals at
pets, for recreation etc.

11
References
1. Endler JA. Geographic variation, speciation, and clines. Princeton University Press;
1977.
2. Mallet J. Hybrid speciation. Nature. 2007;446(7133):279.
3. Rundle HD, Nosil P. Ecological speciation. Ecology letters. 2005;8(3):336-52.
4. Smith JM. Sympatric speciation. The American Naturalist. 1966;100(916):637-50.
5. Seehausen OL, Takimoto G, Roy D, Jokela J. Speciation reversal and biodiversity
dynamics with hybridization in changing environments. Molecular ecology.
2008;17(1):30-44.
6. Seehausen O. Conservation: losing biodiversity by reverse speciation. Current Biology.
2006;16(9):R334-7.
7. Vidal G, Moczydłowska-Vidal M. Biodiversity, speciation, and extinction trends of
Proterozoic and Cambrian phytoplankton. Paleobiology. 1997;23(2):230-46.
8. Liu J, Möller M, Provan J, Gao LM, Poudel RC, Li DZ. Geological and ecological
factors drive cryptic speciation of yews in a biodiversity hotspot. New Phytologist.
2013;199(4):1093-108.

12
 Pre Mid Assignment No. 2
Speciation and its Consequences

Submitted To: Ma’am Mehak Ayub

Submitted By: Rabia Gohar
Section: B
Major: Chemistry
Submission Date: 1.7.2019

Kinnaird college for women, Lahore

Session (2016-2020)

13