Exam 24: Speciation

Rank the following in order from most general to most specific: 1) gametic isolation 2) reproductive isolating mechanism 3) sperm-egg incompatibility in sea urchins 4) prezygotic isolating mechanism

Use the following description to answer the question below. On the Bahamian island of Andros, mosquitofish populations live in various, now-isolated, freshwater ponds that were once united. Currently, some predator-rich ponds have mosquitofish that can swim in short, fast bursts; other predator-poor ponds have mosquitofish that can swim continuously for a long time. When placed together in the same body of water, the two kinds of female mosquitofish exhibit exclusive breeding preferences. What is the best way to promote fusion between two related populations of mosquitofish, one of which lives in a predator-rich pond and the other of which lives in a predator-poor pond?

In the following figure, the isthmus separates the Pacific Ocean on the left (side A) from the Atlantic Ocean on the right (side B). The seawater on either side of the isthmus is separated into five depth habitats (1-5), with 1 being the shallowest. -Why should deepwater shrimp on different sides of the isthmus have diverged from each other earlier than shallow-water shrimp?

Use the following information to answer the question(s) below. Two populations of birds with somewhat different coloration live on opposite sides of a peninsula. The habitat between the populations is not suitable for these birds. When birds from the two populations are brought together, they produce young whose appearance is intermediate between the two parents. These offspring will breed with each other or with birds from either parent population, and all offspring of these pairings appear intermediate to various degrees. -The two populations are ________.

Bird guides once listed the myrtle warbler and Audubon's warbler as distinct species. Recently, these birds have been classified as eastern and western forms of a single species, the yellow-rumped warbler. Which of the following pieces of evidence, if TRUE, would be cause for this reclassification?

Most causes of speciation are relatively slow, in that they may take many generations to see changes, with the exception of ________.

The Panama Canal was completed in 1914, and its depth is about 50 feet. After 1914, snapping shrimp species from which habitats should be most likely to form hybrids as the result of the canal?

Male frogs give calls that attract female frogs to approach and mate. Researchers examined mating calls of closely related but separate species of tree frogs in South America. What outcomes could possibly occur where the ranges of two species overlap? I. The species will interbreed, eventually fusing over time. II. A stable hybrid zone will form if hybrids are better adapted to the area of overlap than either parent species is. III. Species will continue to diverge and be isolated by behavioral or genetic mechanisms.

Use the following description to answer the question(s) below. On the Bahamian island of Andros, mosquitofish populations live in various, now-isolated, freshwater ponds that were once united. Currently, some predator-rich ponds have mosquitofish that can swim in short, fast bursts; other predator-poor ponds have mosquitofish that can swim continuously for a long time. When placed together in the same body of water, the two kinds of female mosquitofish exhibit exclusive breeding preferences. -Which type of reproductive isolation operates to keep the mosquitofish isolated, even when fish from different ponds are reunited in the same body of water?

Use the following description to answer the question(s) below. The Isthmus of Panama (a narrow strip of land connecting North and South America) started rising about 10 million years ago. The Pacific and Caribbean oceans were completely separated by the isthmus about 3 million years ago. Researchers have examined species of snapping shrimp on both sides of the isthmus. Based on the morphological species concept, there appear to be seven pairs of species, with one species of each pair in the Pacific and the other in the Caribbean. The different species pairs live at somewhat different depths in the ocean. Using mitochondrial DNA sequences, the researchers estimated phylogenies and found that each of these species pairs, separated by the isthmus, were indeed each other's closest relatives. The researchers investigated mating in the lab and found that many species pairs seldom courted each other, and those that did mate seldom produced fertile offspring. (N. Knowlton, L. A. Weigt, L. A. Solorzano, D. K. Mills, and E. Bermingham. 1993. Divergence in proteins, mitochondrial DNA, and reproductive incompatibility across the Isthmus of Panama. Science 260:1629-32.) -If the isthmus formed gradually rather than suddenly, what pattern of genetic divergence would you expect to find in these species pairs?

Dog breeders maintain the purity of breeds by keeping dogs of different breeds apart when they are fertile. This kind of isolation is most similar to which of the following reproductive isolating mechanisms?

Refer to the accompanying figure. Which of the following forms a monophyletic group?

Beetle pollinators of a particular plant are attracted to its flowers' bright orange color. The beetles not only pollinate the flowers but mate while inside of the flowers. A mutant version of the plant with red flowers becomes more common with the passage of time. A particular variant of the beetle prefers the red flowers to the orange flowers. Over time, these two beetle variants diverge from each other to such an extent that interbreeding is no longer possible. What kind of speciation has occurred in this example, and what has driven it?

Among known plant species, which of these have been the two most commonly occurring phenomena that have led to the origin of new species?

A researcher notices that in a certain moth species, some females prefer to feed and lay eggs on domesticated solanaceous plants like potatoes and tomatoes. Other females prefer to feed and lay eggs on wild solanaceous plants like Datura. Both male and female moths primarily use scent to find these plants from afar. Females tend to mate where they feed, and the researcher finds a genetic basis for scent preference in these moths. Based on the above information, what might be occurring in this moth species?

Males of different species of the fruit fly Drosophila that live in the same parts of the Hawaiian Islands have different elaborate courtship rituals. These rituals involve fighting other males and making stylized movements that attract females. What type of reproductive isolation does this represent?

Use the following description to answer the question(s) below. On the volcanic, equatorial West African island of Sao Tomé, two species of fruit fly exist. Drosophila yakuba inhabits the island's lowlands, and is also found on the African mainland, located about 200 miles away. The very closely related species Drosophila santomea is found at higher elevations and only on Sao Tomé. The two species can hybridize, though male hybrids are sterile. A hybrid zone exists at middle elevations, where hybrids are greatly outnumbered by D. santomea. Studies of the two species' nuclear genomes reveal that D. yakuba on the island is more closely related to mainland D. yakuba than to D. santomea (2n = 4 in both species). Sao Tomé rose from the Atlantic Ocean about 14 million years ago. -The observation that island D. yakuba are more closely related to mainland D. yakuba than island D. yakuba are to D. santomea is best explained by proposing that D. santomea ________.

Many songbirds breed in North America in the spring and summer and then migrate to Central and South America in the fall. They spend the winter in these warmer areas, where they feed and prepare for the spring migration north and another breeding season. Two hypothetical species of sparrow, A and B, overwinter together in mixed flocks in Costa Rica. In spring, species A goes to the east coast of North America, and species B goes to the west coast. What can you say about the isolating mechanisms of these two species?

Use the following description to answer the question below. On the volcanic, equatorial West African island of Sao Tomé, two species of fruit fly exist. Drosophila yakuba inhabits the island's lowlands, and is also found on the African mainland, located about 200 miles away. At higher elevations, and only on Sao Tomé, is found the very closely related Drosophila santomea. The two species can hybridize, though male hybrids are sterile. A hybrid zone exists at middle elevations, but hybrids there are greatly outnumbered by D. santomea. Studies of the two species' nuclear genomes reveal that D. yakuba on the island is more closely related to mainland D. yakuba than to D. santomea (2n = 4 in both species). Sao Tomé rose from the Atlantic Ocean about 14 million years ago. If the low number of hybrid flies in the hybrid zone, relative to the number of D. santomea flies there, is due to the fact that hybrids are poorly adapted to conditions in the hybrid zone, and if fewer hybrid flies are produced with the passage of time, these conditions will most likely lead to ________.

The data collected by the researchers indicate that ________.