Speciation

A collection of flashcards summarizing key terms and concepts related to speciation, including details about diploid and polyploid organisms, types of speciation, and processes involved.

Speciation

The formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.

Diploid

Having two copies of each chromosome, represented as 2N.

Polyploid

Having more than two copies of each chromosome, for example, 4N.

Meiosis

A type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half, producing gametes.

Autopolyploid Speciation

Speciation where new species arise from chromosomes derived from one parent species, maintaining the same number of chromosomes but differing in the number of copies.

Allopolyploid Speciation

Speciation that involves hybridization between two different parent species, resulting in a new species with chromosomes derived from both parents.

Sterile hybrid zygote

A hybrid zygote that results from the fusion of gametes from two parent species but is not viable or fertile.

Viable fertile hybrid

An organism resulting from hybridization that can grow and produce offspring.

Allopolyploid

An organism that contains the chromosome sets of two or more different species, often resulting from hybridization.

Allopatric speciation

Speciation that occurs when populations are geographically isolated.

Sympatric speciation

Speciation that occurs when populations evolve into separate species without geographic isolation.

Disruptive selection

A process that favors extreme values of a trait over intermediate values, contributing to speciation.

Assortative mating

A mating pattern in which individuals with similar phenotypes mate with one another more frequently than would be expected under random mating.

Paleopolyploidization event

An ancient event in which species underwent whole genome duplication.