Speciation

Speciation

• A species is a group of similar organisms that can reproduce to give fertile offspring.
• Speciation is the development of a new species.
• Speciation occurs when populations of the same species become so different that they can no longer successfully interbreed to produce fertile offspring.
• Isolation is where populations of a species are separated. This can happen due to a physical barrier, e.g floods or earthquakes causing barriers that geographically isolate some individuals from the main population. Conditions on either side of the barrier will be slightly different, e.g. different climates. Because the environment is different on each side, different characteristics will become more common in each population due to natural selection operating differently on the populations.
• Each population shows genetic variation because they have a wide range of alleles.
• In each population, individuals with characteristics that make them better adapted to their environment have a better chance of survival and so are more likely to breed successfully.
• So the alleles that control…