Speciation

    Cards (5)

    • Which scientist nearly published his findings on speciation before Charles Darwin?
      Alfred Russel Wallace 
    • What is a species?
      A species is a group of organisms that are able to interbreed and produce fertile offspring.
    • One of the main ways new species arise is when populations become isolated from each other.
    • Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, both proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection. 
    • Explain how two different species of rabbit could have developed from a common ancestor.
      • Two populations became separated/isolation (by a geographical barrier like a river or mountain)
      • These populations had different gene pools / developed different mutations 
      • Each population was exposed to different environmental conditions (e.g. weather, water levels etc)
      • Natural selection occurs in the two populations which favours the alleles that best suit each environment
      • So the two populations become genetically different 
      • Eventually they cannot interbreed to produce fertile offspring
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