Speciation and Evolution Concepts

Flashcards focused on key vocabulary terms related to speciation and evolution, summarizing definitions and concepts from the lecture.

Speciation

A lineage-splitting event that produces two or more separate species.

Biological Species Concept

A definition of species emphasizing interbreeding individuals within a natural context.

Chronospecies

Different stages in the same evolving lineage that existed at different points in time.

Ring Species

A species with several subspecies that can interbreed with neighboring subspecies, but not with those at the extreme ends of their range.

Allopatric Speciation

Speciation that occurs due to geographic isolation.

Peripatric Speciation

A type of allopatric speciation that occurs with a small isolated population at the edge of a larger population.

Founder Effect

A phenomenon where a new population is established by a small number of individuals from a larger population, leading to reduced genetic variation.

Gene Flow

The transfer of genetic variation from one population to another.

Sympatric Speciation

Speciation that occurs without geographic isolation, often due to the exploitation of different niches.

Polyploidy

The condition of having three or more sets of chromosomes, which can lead to speciation in plants.

Genetic Drift

Random changes in allele frequencies in small populations due to chance events.

Bottleneck Effect

A sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events, leading to a loss of genetic diversity.

Cospeciation

The process where two species evolve together and speciate in parallel, often observed in parasites and their hosts.

Key Innovations

Novel traits that evolve in a lineage and enable new ecological opportunities.

Speciation by Hybridization

The process by which new species arise from the hybridization of two distinct species.

Reproductive Isolation

The situation where different species may live in the same area but properties of individuals prevent them from interbreeding.