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Allopatric speciation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Allopatric speciation (from the ancient Greek allos, "other" + Greek patra, "fatherland") or geographic speciation is speciation that occurs when biological populations of the same species become isolated due to geographical changes such as mountain building or social changes such as emigration. The isolated populations then undergo genotypic and/or phenotypic divergence as: (a) they become subjected to different selective pressures, (b) they independently undergo genetic drift, and (c) different mutations arise in the populations' gene pools.[1] The separate populations over time may evolve distinctly different characteristics. If the geographical barriers are later removed, members of the two populations may be unable to successfully mate with each other, at which point, the genetically isolated groups have emerged as different species. Allopatric isolation is a key factor in speciation and a common process by which new species arise.[2] Adaptive radiation, as observed by Charles Darwin in Galapagos finches, is a consequence of allopatric speciation among island populations.
Contents
1 Isolating mechanisms 1.1 Geographical isolation 1.2 Population dispersal 2 Allopatric speciation in peripheral populations 3 Genesis of reproductive barriers 4 Alternative modes of speciation 5 Examples 6 See also 7 References 7.1 Footnotes 7.2 Bibliography
Isolating mechanisms
Allopatric speciation may occur when a species is subdivided into two genetically isolated populations. Allopatric and allopatry are terms from biogeography, referring to organisms whose ranges are entirely separate such that they do not occur in any one place together. If these organisms are closely related (e.g. sister species), such a distribution is usually the result of allopatric speciation. Separation may be attributed to either geological processes or population dispersal.
Geographical isolation
Geological processes can fragment a population through such events as emergence of mountain ranges, canyon formation, glacial processes, the formation or destruction of land bridges, or the subsidence of large
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bodies of water. On a global scale, plate tectonics are major geological factors leading to separation of populations and the resulting distribution of species. Approximately 50,000 years ago, the Death Valley region of the western United States had a rainy climate which produced an interconnecting system of freshwater rivers and lakes. Climatic changes resulted in a drying trend that has continued for the last 10,000 years. As the lakes and rivers shrank, fish populations became geologically isolated. The few remaining (separated) springs are currently home to a variety of fish, many sharing a close common ancestor; yet each has uniquely adapted to its own particular pool. The extent to which a geological barrier can Comparison of allopatric, peripatric, parapatric and sympatric effectively isolate a population correlates to the speciation mobility of the organism or its offspring. For example physical barriers such as canyons may effectively block migration and dispersal of small mammals; however, have little impact on flying birds or wind-borne seeds.[3]
Population dispersal
Population dispersal is used to describe migratory events, either in the form of range expansion (natural movement away from parents) or jump dispersal (crossing of barriers), which may lead to genetic isolation. If the smaller population fragment becomes genetically isolated from the parental group, it may be subjected to its own unique mutations, selection forces, and genetic drift effects; thus, it will follow its own evolutionary pathway. Migrations or accidental relocations (such as birds being blown off course) may lead to population fragments; whereby groups merely become separated by distance. Once gene flow between the two groups is disrupted, speciation becomes a possibility.
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gene pool of the parent population. In addition, peripheral isolates are likely to represent a small number of individuals, meaning their gene pool is more susceptible to the effects of genetic drift (random chance). Furthermore, it is likely that the peripheral population will inhabit an environment different from its ancestral gene pool, likely causing it to be subjected to different selective pressures as it colonizes new areas. The outer periphery of a population's habitat tends to be extreme; hence, the reason range expansion is kept in check. For most peripheral isolates, it is more likely that they die off rather than survive and speciate.
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Examples
The African Elephant has always been regarded as a single species but, because of morphological and DNA differences, some scientists classify them into three subspecies. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have argued that divergence due to geographical isolation has gone further, and the elephants of West Africa should be Allopatric speciation among fruit flies regarded as a separate species from both the savanna elephants of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, or the forest elephants of Central Africa. A similar situation exists with the Asian Elephant, which has four distinct living sub-species.[9] Other cases arise where two populations that are quite distinct morphologically, and are native to different continents, have been classified as different species; but when members of one species are introduced into the other's range, they are found to interbreed freely, showing that they were in fact only geographically isolated subspecies. This was found to be the case when the Mallard was introduced into New Zealand and interbred freely with the native Grey Duck, which had been classified as a separate species. It is controversial whether its specific status can now be retained.
See also
Disjunct distribution Habitat fragmentation Sympatric
References
Footnotes
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. ^ Hoskin 2005, p. 1353 ^ Lande 1980, p. 463 ^ Campbell 2002, p. 469 ^ Gavrilets 1998, p. 1483 ^ Mayr 1970, p. 13 ^ Rivas 1964, p. 42 ^ Campbell 2002, p. 473 ^ Futuyma 1980, p. 254 ^ Fickel 2007
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Bibliography
Campbell, Neil; Reese, Jane (2002). Biology Sixth Edition (6 ed.). Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 0-8053-6624-5. Fickel, J.; Lieckfeldt, D.; Ratanakorn, P.; Pitra, C. (2007). "Distribution of haplotypes and microsatellite alleles among Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Thailand" (http://www.springerlink.com/index/R0Q2143R8852824N.pdf) . European Journal of Wildlife Research 53 (4): 298303. doi:10.1007/s10344-007-0099-x (http://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10344-007-0099-x) . http://www.springerlink.com/index/R0Q2143R8852824N.pdf. Retrieved 2008-04-14. Futuyma, Douglas J; Mayer, Gregory C (1980). "Non-Allopatric Speciation in Animals". Systematic Zoology 29 (3): 254. doi:10.2307/2412661 (http://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2F2412661) . JSTOR 2412661 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/2412661) . Gavrilets, Sergey; Li, Hai; Vose, Michael (1998). "Rapid parapatric speciation on holey adaptivelandscapes" (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1689320) (PDF). Proc Biol Sci. 265 (1405): 14831489. doi:10.1098/rspb.1998.0461 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1098%2Frspb.1998.0461) . PMC 1689320 (http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1689320) . PMID 9744103 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9744103) . http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1689320. Hoskin, Conrad J; Higgie, Megan; McDonald, Keith R; Moritz, Craig (2005). "Reinforcement drives rapid allopatric speciation" (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7063/full/nature04004.html) . Nature 437 (7063): 13531356. doi:10.1038/nature04004 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature04004) . PMID 16251964 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16251964) . http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v437/n7063/full/nature04004.html. Lande, Russel (1980). "Genetic Variation and Phenotypic Evolution During Allopatric Speciation". The American Naturalist 116 (4): 463479. doi:10.1086/283642 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1086%2F283642) . JSTOR 2460440 (http://www.jstor.org/stable/2460440) . Mayr, Ernst (1970). Populations, Species, and Evolution (http://books.google.com/? id=STEXkujeBnsC&pg=PA1&dq=mayr+e#v=onepage&q=mayr%20e&f=false) . The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. ISBN 0-674-69013-3. http://books.google.com/? id=STEXkujeBnsC&pg=PA1&dq=mayr+e#v=onepage&q=mayr%20e&f=false. Retrieved 12/11/2010. Rivas, Luis R (1964). "A Reinterpretation of the Concepts "Sympatric" and "Allopatric" with Proposal of the Additional Terms "Syntopic" and "Allotopic"" (http://sysbio.oxfordjournals.org/content/13/1-4/42.extract) . Syst Bio 13(1-4): 4243. doi:10.2307/sysbio/13.1-4.42 (http://dx.doi.org/10.2307%2Fsysbio%2F13.1-4.42) . http://sysbio.oxfordjournals.org/content/13/1-4/42.extract.
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