Difference between revisions of "Sympatric speciation"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
(adding some refs and some reality) |
(corrected...the article was actually describing peripatric, not sympatric speciation) |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | '''Sympatric speciation''', unlike [[allopatric speciation]], | + | '''Sympatric speciation''', unlike [[allopatric speciation]], is speciation which takes place in the same physical environment or ecological niche. Such speciation may also take place after a gross [[gene | genetic]] change in a population. It appears that this type of evolution is more common in plants, whose reproductive cycles make them especially prone to both changes in lifestyle and chromosomal makeup. |
| + | |||
| + | The question of whether speciation can occur in sympatry has been among the most contentious in evolutionary biology. In recent years a growing number of studies have provided empirical evidence that it has occurred <ref> | ||
Barluenga, M et al Sympatric speciation in Nicaraguan crater lake cichlid ''Nature''439:719</ref><ref> Savolainen, V. et al. Sympatric speciation in palms on an oceanic island ''Nature''441, 210 - 2130</ref> | Barluenga, M et al Sympatric speciation in Nicaraguan crater lake cichlid ''Nature''439:719</ref><ref> Savolainen, V. et al. Sympatric speciation in palms on an oceanic island ''Nature''441, 210 - 2130</ref> | ||
Revision as of 00:08, October 25, 2008
Sympatric speciation, unlike allopatric speciation, is speciation which takes place in the same physical environment or ecological niche. Such speciation may also take place after a gross genetic change in a population. It appears that this type of evolution is more common in plants, whose reproductive cycles make them especially prone to both changes in lifestyle and chromosomal makeup.
The question of whether speciation can occur in sympatry has been among the most contentious in evolutionary biology. In recent years a growing number of studies have provided empirical evidence that it has occurred [1][2]