Bio Factsheet

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www.curriculum-press.co.uk # 412

Hybrid Zones and Speciation

This Biology Factsheet will: Figure 1 A male and female mallard with different plumage

• Define a species.
• Describe what speciation is.
• Explain how speciation occurs.
• Describe what a hybrid is.
• Explain how hybrids occur.
• Explain what a hybrid zone is.

The Definition of a Species

Individuals of the same species share the same:
• Physiology (structure of the body).
• Morphology (appearance).
• Biochemistry (how the reactions in their cells work).
• Behaviour (such as mating dances).
The genetic concept of a species is that individuals of the same
species can interbreed to produce fertile offspring.
However, when individuals of the same species are examined
more closely, it can be seen that individuals exist which don’t
have common characteristics. For example:
• Many male and female birds of the same species have different
plumage. Figure 1 shows a female and a male mallard duck.
The male has a green head and white neckband. The female
is speckled brown giving her better camouflage whilst sitting
on the eggs.
• In those species which undergo a metamorphosis (for
example, the Great Crested newt), individuals have a
completely different morphology and physiology at different
stages in their life cycle.
DNA analysis can be used to determine whether:
• Individuals belong to the same species or
• How closely species are related to each other.
Exam Hint: Organisms have a genus and a species name.
Organisms with the same genus name will share more
characteristics than two organisms that are in a different genus.
For example, Panthera leo (lion) and Panthera tigris (tiger) will
have more in common than Acinonyx jubatus (cheetah), even
though they are all cats.
Test Question 1. What is a species?
In some species a large proportion of the population have a
different phenotype. This is polymorphism. For example,
Jaguars in South America have either a light or dark fur colour-
both having dark spots. They look very different but are the same
species and their offspring will have either dark fur or light fur
depending on their genotype.
Exam Hint: Genotype refers to the alleles which an individual
has inherited. Phenotype refers to the characteristic an
individual shows. For example, if black fur in cats is dominant
to brown, a cat with black fur (phenotype) may have a genotype
which is either homozygous or heterozygous.

Alternatively analyses of mRNA or the primary structure of a

protein can indicate relationships between species. For example,
cytochrome c is a protein involved in respiration and is found
in a wide variety of living organisms. Analysing the amino acid
sequence of this common protein can show whether individuals
are the same species or how long ago they shared a common
ancestor.
How are new species formed?
Speciation is where new species are formed. The flora
(plants) and fauna (animals) on earth are constantly evolving.
Some species become extinct and other species emerge.
For populations to become a different species (in the genetic
definition) they must no longer be able to interbreed to produce
fertile offspring. The method by which speciation occurs is
described as either sympatric or allopatric.

© Curriculum Press 2022 Bio Factsheets, 2021/22 Series, Issue 2 of 3, January 2022. ISSN: 1351-5136 1
Bio Factsheet
• Allopatric speciation is caused by a geographical barrier such
as a mountain range, chasm, gorge or river which prevents
individuals moving between populations. Over time, due
to genetic variation and different environmental pressures,
populations evolve through natural selection. They may
become so different that, even if they were able to reach each
other, they would no longer be able to interbreed and produce
fertile offspring. They have become two distinct species.
• Sympatric speciation can occur in a similar way but there is no
geographical barrier. Factors which may prevent individuals
from interbreeding could be:
{ Different pollination or breeding times.
{ Physical incompatibility.
{ Large distances particularly for sessile organisms (ones
that don’t move around).
Figure 2 shows snails of the genus Satsuma which have a shell
which whorls to either the left or the right. The snails with a left
whorl shell cannot breed with the snails with a right whorl shell
because of incompatible genitals. So, although they belong
to the same species, the right shelled and left shelled snails
may become two different species due to an accumulation of
differences in their alleles over time.
Figure 2 Snails of the genus Satsuma
This snail shell This snail shell
whorls left or whorls right
anticlockwise or clockwise
Test Question 2. At the end of the Ice Age, water levels in
Canada dropped so that one large lake became many smaller
lakes. The fish which were once able to interbreed were
now prevented from doing so as they were in different lakes.
Describe how these fish have become different species.
Occasionally scientists reclassify species after studying them.
New Zealand researchers, examining skeletal morphology and
genotype, recognised that the Southern Rockhopper penguin
should be defined as two separate species: the Eastern and
Western Rockhopper. In 2006, the Southern Rockhopper
penguins became a distinct and separate species from the
Northern Rockhoppers
Test Question 3. Suggest one way a population may become
isolated.
What is a hybrid and how do they occur?
Sometimes two individuals of different species can interbreed,
but they produce infertile offspring. For example, a horse and a
donkey can interbreed to produce a mule. Mules are infertile as
they cannot breed with horses, donkeys or other mules. Mules
are called hybrids.
Occasionally, individuals from different species are capable
of interbreeding with other very closely related species and
producing fertile offspring. The coyote Canis lantrans and the
wolf Canis lupus are different species of the genus Canis. If they
interbreed, they produce fertile offspring which have differing
levels of DNA from each parental species.
© Curriculum Press 2022 Bio Factsheets, 2021/22 Series, Issue 2 of 3, January 2022. ISSN: 1351-5136
412 - Hybrid Zones and Speciation
Where wolves and coyotes mix, there appears to be a variety
of individuals produced each having different percentages
of wolf DNA (from 100% wolf to 0% wolf). To make it a little
more complicated, the wolf-coyote hybrids often contain small
amounts of dog DNA as well.
Test Question 4. What is a hybrid?
Breeding two, less closely related plant individuals together often
result in faster growing, more disease resistant offspring. This is
called outbreeding. Outbreeding is often more desirable than
inbreeding within a species as it increases the diversity of alleles
within a population. Outbreeding reduces the chances of faulty
alleles being expressed if they are recessive. Many organisms
have developed mechanisms to prevent inbreeding. For example,
in each batch of eggs laid, woodlice are either all male or all
female. This means brothers and sisters cannot mate.
Exam Hint: Inbreeding occurs when two closely related
individuals breed. Outbreeding is when the two individuals are
distantly related.
Exam Hint: Make sure you use the term allele when referring
to a version of a gene. A person inherits two versions of each
gene or allele: one from each parent. However, there may be
more than two possible alleles for each gene, resulting in a
wide variety of possible combinations or genotypes producing
a range of different phenotypes.
Hybridization was thought to be uncommon and resulted in less
well-adapted individuals. However, there are examples where the
hybrid is better adapted and survives over the parent species.
This is given the term hybrid vigour. For example, the hybrid
rice grass Spartina townsendii is produced when S.stricta and
S.alterniflora interbreed. (S.stricta and S.alterniflora have 56
and 70 chromosomes respectively). The hybrid plant has 126
chromosomes and is highly fertile, enabling it to outcompete
both parent plants.
Exam Hint: Don’t be put off by complicated Latin names
which you haven’t heard before. If you have an exam question
about organisms, you may be able to understand the question
better if you call the different species a and b. Make sure you
substitute the correct names when writing your answer.
What is a hybrid zone?
Scientists are now discussing whether hybrids are more common
than originally thought or whether interbreeding is occurring in
populations which were not originally different species. Names
given to species and even the term species are man-made
concepts which have no impact on the natural processes
occurring.
Hybridization is seen as an important evolutionary mechanism
that can impact the gene pools and affect the divergence of
species. It has long been known that gulls hybridise quite
frequently. For example:
• The Great Black Backed Gull can interbreed with the Herring
Gulls.
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Bio Factsheet 412 - Hybrid Zones and Speciation

• Herring Gulls can also interbreed with Glaucous Winged Gulls. Exam Style Questions
• Glaucous Winged Gulls, in turn, can also interbreed with 1) Two plants found in the wild are thought to be from the same
Western Gulls. species. One plant is short with pink flowers which appear in
Hybridisation in the wild will only occur where the boundary of the spring. These plants prefer moist soil. The other plant is
two species habitats meet. This is known as a hybrid zone. tall with purple flowers which appear later in summer. These
Along the borders of their range, individuals of different species plants can tolerate drier conditions.
can interbreed producing fertile hybrids. Further away from the In a year when the weather is cooler, the pink flowers appear
hybrid zone, there is less chance of individuals interbreeding with later than usual and may be fertilised by the purple flowering
the other species and the DNA of those individuals is less likely to individuals. When this occurs, all the offspring produced are
contain any DNA from the other species. Such individuals could tall with purple flowers. If the seeds produced are collected
be called pure breeds. and grown in the laboratory, both tall purple and short pink
Figure 3 shows the regions where different types of gull live. flowering plants grow. When they are grown in controlled
Many species are distributed around the Arctic Circle. Gulls do conditions in the lab, they have the same colour and size as
not cross over the North Pole so this is a geographical barrier. in the wild.
Where two different species come into contact, they produce a) What evidence from the passage is there that the plants
hybrids. *The genus of the gulls is Larus but only the different are different species?
species names are shown on the map.
b) What evidence from the passage is there that they are
from the same species?
Figure 3 Regions of gull habitat
c) Genetic diversity in species can be measured in several
different ways. Name two of these ways.
d) When cross pollination has occurred in the cooler years
only tall purple flowered plants grow in the wild. However,
if the seeds are taken into a laboratory and grown both
types of plant grow. Explain why this happens.
glaucescens
schistisagus e) What evidence is there to suggest that it is unlikely that
these two plants will undergo speciation and develop
vegae
into two separate species?
glaucoides
CANADA f) 
Changes in climate due to global warming can put
North monogolicus pressure on species to survive. The plant described is
Pole RUSSIA more likely to survive such changes explain why.
hyperboreus
smithsonianus heuglini barabensis 2) Crabs predate on snails using their pincers to crack the
shells. Crabs are most likely to use their right pincer which
G R E ENL AND
cachinnans is larger and stronger than the left one. A biologist studied
argentatus
the predation of crabs on snails and noted the difference in
marinus fuscus survival rate of snails with right whorl shells compared with
snails with left whorl shells. The biologist drew a graph of her
armenicus results which are shown in Figure 4 below.
atlantis
michahelis Figure 4 Survival rates

100

80
Hybrid zones may form in different ways:
survival (%)
Chance of

60
• A geographical barrier may be removed, and the two species
once separated are able to interbreed once more. 40

• There may be a gradual gradient from one species to another. 20

For example, the plumage of the Canadian Townsend Warbler
0
and Hermit Warbler show a gradual change from one to Left whorl Right whorl
another over many kilometres.
Studying the occurrence of hybrids and formation of new a) Describe what Figure 4 shows.
species has been greatly helped by genetic profiling. The strict
definition of a species, i.e. that individuals from the same species b) Which statistical test would a biologist use to determine
can interbreed to produce fertile offspring, may require some if the difference in % chance of survival was statistically
modification in the future. Will hybrids become more common as significant?
climate change disrupts populations causing them to venture into
c) What does the small vertical line on the top, middle of the
new territories and encounter new species or will their territories
column represent?
shrink into narrower areas and cause populations to become
more isolated? d) Explain what effect the predation of crabs may have on
the allele frequency of this snail population.

© Curriculum Press 2022 Bio Factsheets, 2021/22 Series, Issue 2 of 3, January 2022. ISSN: 1351-5136 3
Bio Factsheet
3) Bears are mammals. The map below shows the range of
distribution of four species of Bear in the North American
and South American continents.
Figure 5 Map showing distribution of four different Bear
species.
Polar Bear Ursus maritimus
Black Bear Ursus americanus
Brown Bear Ursus actos
Brown and Black Bear
Brown Bear and Polar Bear
Spectacled Bear Tremarctos ornatus
a) Mark on the map with a guideline and the letter H where
a hybrid is most likely to occur.
b) Which bear is least likely to form a hybrid with one of the
other bear species and why?
c) What is the lowest taxonomic group that the four species
of bear can share? Explain your answer.
d) Some of the bear populations are found on Islands. Island
communities often have unique species compared to
the nearest land mass because they are reproductively
isolated.
State three other conditions that must be present in
order for speciation to occur.
Answers to Exam Style Questions
1) a) One has pink flowers and is short the other has purple
flowers and is tall. They also flower at different points in
the year.
b) They are able to breed and produce fertile offspring.
c) 
Comparing differences in base sequences in DNA,
comparing base sequences in mRNA, comparing amino
acid sequences in a common protein, e.g. cytochrome c.
d) In the laboratory the conditions are favourable for each
type of plant so both forms can grow, in the wild it may
be too dry for the short pink flowered plant to survive
and so only tall purple flowering plants grow.
e) They are still interbreeding when conditions allow. There
is not complete isolation.
f) They are likely to have a wide variety of alleles and the
two forms are able to survive different conditions. If
conditions are too hostile for one of the plant forms the
other one may survive.
© Curriculum Press 2022 Bio Factsheets, 2021/22 Series, Issue 2 of 3, January 2022. ISSN: 1351-5136
412 - Hybrid Zones and Speciation
2) Figure 4 shows that snails with a shell which whorls to the
left is more likely to survive an attack by a crab than a snail
with a right-whorled shell. [The question does not ask for an
explanation so you do not need to know why this occurs].
a) 
An unpaired T-test would compare the difference
between the mean values of two different groups of
snails.
b) The line represents the standard deviation of that set of
data. A small standard deviation suggests that the data
sets are all close to the mean value.
c) Snails with a left-whorled shell are more likely to survive
a crab attack so are more likely to reproduce and pass
on the left whorl allele. The frequency of this allele in the
population should increase.
3) a) The guide line should point to (must touch) the area
on the map where two species of bears can be found.
A letter H on the map will be accepted if it is within the
range of both bear species. No arrow head should be
drawn.
b) 
Spectacled bear as its range does not overlap any other
bear species.
c) 
Family, as the bears belong to a different genus.
d.) 1. Genetic diversity possibly through a mutation. 2. There
is natural selection due to a selection pressure which is
different from the mainland population. 3. Over time after
several generations the frequency of alleles has changed
so much speciation has occurred.
Answers to Test Questions
1) Individuals from the same species are able to interbreed to
produce fertile offspring.
2) There are genetic differences between the fish in the lakes,
perhaps due to a mutation. In the lakes there are different
environment conditions so there are different selection
pressures. Individuals with alleles which help them survive
are more likely to pass on their alleles to the next generation.
Over time the differences in the combinations of alleles is
so large that the fish from the different lakes can no longer
interbreed and are considered different species.
3) A population may be isolated by any geographical barrier, e.g.
mountain range, oceanic trench, gorge, canyon, river, large
agricultural area, fragmentation of forests, or by sympatric
means e.g. differing pollination times, incompatibility in allele
number, incompatible morphology.
4) A hybrid is the offspring produced when two different species
interbreed.
Acknowledgements: This Biology Factsheet
was researched and written by Kate Falcous and
published in January 2022 by Curriculum Press.
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