11.1 Speed of Speciation
All through my schooling, I have thought that it take so long for a new species to form. I mean, from Darwin's ideas on speciation, he pointed out that it is a long, drawn out process in order for speciation to occur. But, I don't think that's the full story here.
We can see reproductive isolation in environments that are spatially separated (Hendry et al., 2007). This 2007 article examines the speed of speciation in relation to contemporary evolution and ecological speciation. This article aims to show the reader that speciation can occur in 100 generations or less (which is relatively fast!). This article also points out that speciation is a process, not an endpoint (Hendry et al., 2007). Darwin also addressed this. But what most scientists classify as speciation is reproductive isolation, a.k.a the lack of interbreeding.
I believe this lack of interbreeding can occur very quickly, unlike what Darwin postulated. In this 2007 article, they point out that Helianthus anomalus resulted as part of divergent evolution due to adaptation in sand dunes. This showed that this hybrid sunflower came about in less than 60 generations (Hendry et al., 2007). That is a whole lot faster than Darwin ever postulated, showing us that speciation can occur rapidly.
Ooooo, good citation! Just how fast do you think speciation *can* happen? Does it always take a few generations? Would there ever be an instance where, from parent to offspring, there is instant speciation?
ReplyDeleteAllie, I totally agree with the notion that speciation seems like a process that would take a long time. Do you know what factors would encourage a faster speciation in comparison to a slower speciation?
ReplyDeleteI really like your citation, I found it interesting the connection of how even Darwin’s had the concept that evolution took long periods of time. Do you have any idea how the interbreeding could affect in other ways besides speciation?
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