ADAPTATION & SPECIES

ADAPTATION & SPECIES

Fast Lizards, Slow Corals

• The rapid evolution of lizards and the slow
growth of corals offer clues about how
species are born.
• Eviatar Nevo captured 10 lizards on Pod
Kopište, a small, rocky island off the coast
of Croatia.
• Nevo and his team released the captured
lizards on a nearby island just 3 miles away,
Pod Mrčaru, but the two islands were Podarcis sicula
separated by a deep ocean gulf.
Lizard on Pod
• Pod Mrčaru already had two other species
of lizards living there.
Mrčaru,
• The transferred lizards were a common
33 Years After
Mediterranean species called Podarcis Introduction of the
sicula. Species
• Nevo was curious to find out what would • Duncan Irschick went to
happen when the three species began to see how Podarcis sicula
compete for resources on Pod Mrčaru. had fared 33 years later.
• They had out-competed
• Nevo never got the chance to return to the
the other two species.
island because of the civil wars in the 1980s • They had changed and
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and 1990s. adapted to the new island.
ADAPTATION & SPECIES

Pod Kopište’s Sparse Vegetation and Pod

Mrčaru’s Lush Vegetation
• Podarcis sicula had adapted to the new food sources
on Pod Mrčaru island’s lush vegetation.
• Food sources were very different from their home
island Pod Kopište’s sparse vegetation.
• They used to eat insects, but on Pod Mrčaru they
began to feast on plants.

Populations Adapt or Die

Adaptation: commonly applied to adaptive
traits or the process of evolution through natural
selection that brings about adaptive traits
• Can be a trait that is advantageous to an individual or
a population
• Can be the evolutionary process of natural selection
that enables a good match between a population of
organisms and that population’s environment
• If the population of lizards was going to
survive, it would need to adapt to its new
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environment.
 Podarcis sicula Adaptations
ADAPTATION & SPECIES

• The lizard adaptations happened quickly (in only 33 years).

• Characteristics of all adaptations:
- They provide a closer match to the new environment. 
• Lizards’ evolution to match the ecosystem on Pod Mrčaru
- They are complex.
• The new gut structure
- They help accomplish major functions.
• Feeding and mating
Species: members of a group that can and do mate
with one another and produce fertile offspring
• According to the biological species concept, a
species is a group of natural populations that can
interbreed to produce fertile offspring, but
cannot interbreed with other species.
• They are reproductively isolated from other
populations.
Male and a Female South Pacific Rattlesnake
Confirm That They Are the Same Species
• After performing this mating ritual, these snakes
successfully mated, producing viable offspring.

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 One Species or Two?
ADAPTATION & SPECIES

• Not all species can be defined by their ability to interbreed.

• Examples:
• Asexually reproducing organisms, such as bacteria
• Extinct species
• Scientists may use biogeographical information, DNA sequence similarity, and
morphology to identify and distinguish species.

Morphological Differences
These frogs:
• Have distinct morphology
• Are genetically similar
• Are considered color variations of the same species
• Breeding these frogs would determine their classification under the biological species
concept.

Genetic Divergence Results in Speciation

• Speciation: the process by which one species splits to form two or more species
• Occurs because of genetic divergence
• Genetic divergence: the accumulation of differences in the DNA sequences of genes in
two or more populations of organisms over time
-4- • Results in the populations becoming more and more genetically dissimilar
 The Grand Canyon Is a Geographic Barrier for Squirrels
ADAPTATION & SPECIES

Geographic isolation: when a geographic barrier prevents

populations from getting together to mate, blocking gene flow
• Examples of geographic barriers causing isolation:
 Mountains, rivers, valleys, and canyons

Physical Barriers Can Produce Allopatric

Speciation by Blocking Gene Flow
• Allopatric speciation: the formation of new species from
geographically isolated populations
• allo = “other”
-5- • patric = “country”
ADAPTATION & SPECIES

How Do New Species Form When Populations Are Free to

Mix and Mingle?
• Carlos Prada studied Eunicea flexuose, “sea fan coral,” on the Caribbean reef just off Puerto Rico to
try to answer this question.
• He observed that although all the coral was the same species, it looked very different at different
sea depths.
• Prada began transplanting the corals from deep water to shallow water and vice versa.
• He found that each variety of coral transformed to better match those found at the new sea depth.
• But neither made a complete transformation.
• Conclusion: they are actually two species that have adapted to their respective water depths.

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ADAPTATION & SPECIES

Depth of Water Provides Ecological Isolation for Sea

Fans
Ecological isolation: the idea that two closely related
species in the same area are reproductively isolated by
minor differences in habitat
• Prada’s corals seemed to be isolated only by depth
differences.
• DNA tests showed very little gene flow between
coral of different sea depths.
• Hypothesis: the corals have adapted their
morphologies to suit different symbiotic algae that
grow on them at different depths.

Different Species of Corals and Their Resident

Algae
Symbiotic algae:
- Live on coral
- Use sunlight to photosynthesize and produce
energy and organic compounds
• Corals:
• Use energy and organic compounds to maintain and
grow calcium carbonate skeletons
• Provide the algae with a sheltered place to live
• Produce carbon dioxide that the algae use during
-7- photosynthesis
ADAPTATION & SPECIES

Different Depths, Different Algae

Coevolution: when the interaction between two
species so strongly influences their survival that
they have evolved in tandem
• An adaptation in one species evolves alongside a
complementary adaptation in another species.
• Examples:
• Algae and sea fan corals
• Hummingbirds and flowers

Coevolution at Its Finest

• This hummingbird’s bill fits perfectly into this flower for easy access to the nectar.
• The hummingbird feasts on the nectar and then distributes the flower’s
pollen by carrying the pollen along to the next flower.
• It’s a win–win situation!

Sympatric Speciation Drives Diversity

Among Lake Victoria Cichlid Species
Sympatric speciation: the formation of new species in the
absence of geographic isolation
• sym = “together”
-8- • patric = “country”
ADAPTATION & SPECIES

Sympatric Speciation:
So Many Chromosomes

Polyploidy: a condition in
which an individual gains an extra full set or two (or three) of chromosomes
• Invariably fatal in people
• Not lethal, and even advantageous, in plants
 New plant species can form in a single generation.

Sympatric Speciation: Barriers to Reproduction

Reproductive barrier: exists between two species when they are
reproductively isolated from each other  
• Divided into two categories:
• Prezygotic: act before the zygote exists
• Postzygotic: act after the zygote is formed

Recall: Zygote: fertilized egg

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ADAPTATION & SPECIES

The Blue-Footed Booby

Courtship Dance Is a
Prezygotic, Behavioral
Reproductive Barrier
• Prezygotic barriers:
barriers that prevent a
male gamete and a female
gamete from fusing to
form a zygote
• Such as a human sperm
and a human egg
• Act before the zygote
exists

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 Prezygotic Gametic Isolation as
ADAPTATION & SPECIES

a Reproductive Barrier Among

Sea Urchin Species
• Long ago, the Panama landmass
was not continuous and did not
separate the two oceans.
• These three species likely
evolved through both allopatric
and sympatric speciation.

What Is Keeping the Two Species of Sea Fans Reproductively

Isolated?
• Prezygotic barriers may exist between the two types of sea fan coral.
• Gametic isolation?
• Postzygotic barriers may exist as well.
• Zygote death?
• Hybrid performance?
• Hybrid sterility?
-11- • Hybrids exist between the two depths, but there are very few.
 Why Sex?
ADAPTATION & SPECIES
Pros
• The genetic diversity created by
sexual reproduction is critical for
adaptation to new
environments.
• Sexual reproduction can help a
population eliminate detrimental
alleles and generate new
beneficial alleles.
• Rapid genetic change that occurs
through sexual recombination
can help a population evolve
resistance to parasitic infections.
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Cons
• Time and energy must be
invested to find or attract a
mate.
• Parents pass on only 50 percent
of their genetic material to
offspring, as opposed to the
100 percent that is passed on
through asexual reproduction.
• Gene combinations that have
benefited the parents may be
shuffled and broken apart
during meiosis and
recombination.