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Title: Chapter 15 Mechanisms of Speciation


1
Chapter 15Mechanisms of Speciation
2
Where are We
  • Up to this point we have concentrated on
    evolutionary processes operating within and
    between populations (ie. population genetics)
  • Microevolution
  • Now we are moving towards more coarse-level
    evolutionary processes operating on larger
    temporal, geographical and phylogenetic scales
  • Macroevolution

3
Species
  • Species form the link between Microevolution and
    Macroevolution
  • Processes of Speciation include elements from
    fine scale Microevolution as well as larger
    Macroevolutionary processes

4
What is a species?
  • Difficult concept to put boundaries on We find
    variation within groups and between groups
  • We find phenotypes that are plasticwe find
    genetic differences that do not correspond to any
    visible phenotypic differences

5
What is a species?
  • The difficulty in defining and identifying
    species points to the gray area that exists
    between species (ie, intermediates, variants,
    races, subspecies exist)
  • May be the best evidence that each species was
    not specially created
  • Check outwww.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/05/i
    ndex.html

6
What is a species?
  • Species are a group of interbreeding populations
  • All groups of individuals that send genetic
    migrants back and forth belong to a single
    species
  • Species have independent evolutionary
    trajectories
  • A species evolves without the being influenced by
    gene flow from other groups of individuals
  • Species are the fundamental unit of evolutionary
    change

7
Typological or Essential Notion of Species
  • Individuals were members of a given species if
    they conformed to that type or ideal, in
    certain characters that were essential fixed
    properties
  • This forms the idea of a type-specimen or
    type-series for defining a species.
  • Essentially all described species in science are
    based on a TYPE

8
Typological or Essential Notion of Species
  • Basically stems from Linnaeus
  • Formally discussed by Mayr
  • Relies heavily on fixed (not polymorphic)
    morphological differences unique to a species
  • Yet, still required common decent or decent from
    a common ancestor (monophyly!)

9
Species concepts
  • There are something on the order of 32 recognized
    species conceptsEach seeks to define groups that
    cannot (or do not) talk to each other
    genetically
  • Well limit our discussion to 4 basic ideas of
    species delineationBiologicalMorphologicalPhylo
    genetic
  • Evolutionary

10
Morphological (aka Taxonomic) Species Concept
  • Morphological (aka Taxonomic) Species Concept
  • Species are defined by differences in characters,
    especially morphologyWorkable for all kinds of
    organisms, extinct or extant

11
Morphological (aka Taxonomic) Species Concept
Major Difficulties
  • Polymorphism - genetic polymorphisms, sexual
    dimorphism, social castes

12
Morphological (aka Taxonomic) Species Concept
Major Difficulties
  • Geographic variation - a species may appear
    different in different parts of its range due to
    genes or environment
  • Two populations of Thamnophis sirtalis

13
Morphological (aka Taxonomic) Species Concept
Major Difficulties
  • Cryptic species - genetically distinct units
    might have no outward differences
  • Hyla chrysoscelis (4n) and H. versicolor (2n)

14
Biological Species Concept
  • A group of interbreeding (or potentially
    interbreeding) populations that is reproductively
    isolated from other such groups
  • If individuals from two separate populations
    cannot produce fertile offspring they are said to
    be two different species
  • A current favorite among biologists, the legal
    definition of species by the USA, CITES, and the
    ESA

15
Biological Species ConceptMajor Difficulties
  • Fossils and extinct organisms?
  • Asexuals?
  • Geographically separated groups?
  • How much interbreeding is too much?
  • What is potentially interbreeding?

16
Fem. lion X Male tiger
Male lion X Fem. tiger
zebroid
zonkey
17
Evolutionary Species Concept (Simpson, modified
by Wiley)
  • "A single lineage of ancestor-descendent
    populations which maintains its identity from
    other such lineages and which has its own
    evolutionary tendencies and historical fate"
  • Four logical corollaries
  • All organisms, past and present, belong to some
    evolutionary species
  • Species must be reproductively isolated from each
    other to the extent that this is required to
    maintain their separate identities, tendencies,
    and fate.
  • Evolutionary species may or may not exhibit
    recognizable phenetic differences ( of species
    may be over or under-estimated, usually the
    latter)
  • No separate, single evolutionary lineage may be
    subdivided into a series of ancestral and
    descendent species.
  • Benefits clear conceptually applies to asexual
    species, through time, and allopatric secies
  • Problems application (problem to know the
    future) asexual species (too many independent
    lineages)

18
Phylogenetic Species Concept
  • A species is the smallest, irreducible cluster of
    organisms that contains all known descendants
    from a common ancestor ? the smallest
    monophyletic group
  • Identifiable through phylogenetic reconstruction
    ? any branch is a species defines species as
    evolutionarily meaningful units

19
Phylogenetic Species ConceptMajor Difficulty
  • Unclear what scale differences between species
    should be separate from variation within a
    species, ie, how much genetic difference is
    enough to consider two groups separate species?

20
Restricted Gene Exchange
  • Narrow Hybrid Zones genetically distinct pops.
    meet interbreed to a limited extent
    (semispecies, superspeciesWe dont like these
    terms!)
  • Sympatric Hybridization some hybridization
    occurs w/in sympatry but only occasionally
  • Geographic Variation Genetically distinct pops.
    appear conspecific in certain areas

21
Ring Species
  • A chain of interbreeding pops. that loop around
    an uninhabited area so that terminal pops. are so
    different when they meet, they cannot interbreed!
  • eg. Ensatina salamanders

22
Ring Species Ensatina
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24
Allopatric Populations
  • This is one of the main limitations of the
    Biological Species Concept!
  • The BSC. uses potentially interbreeding.
  • What if populations NEVER come into contact but
    may be able to interbreed in captivity (eg.
    Mountain top species, species that live in patchy
    habitats )

25
Example 1 Montane Pitvipers
  • Live at high elevation (above 2500M) in Middle
    America
  • Most populations are isolated on these mountain
    tops
  • Expect restricted gene flow between populations

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27
Phylogeny of Cerrophidion (Montane Pitvipers)
Cerrophidion godmani
Costa Rica
C. petlacalensis
Veracruz, Mexico
C. tzotzlilorum
Chiapas, Mexico
C. godmani
Oaxaca, Mexico Guatemala
C. godmani
Huehuetenango, Guatemala
C. godmani
N.W. and Interior Guatemala
28
C. petlacalensis
C. tzotzliroum
Montane Pitvipers Cerrophidion
C. godmani
C. godmani
C. godmani
C. godmani
HOW MANY SPECIES????
29
Side Note Gene VS. Species Trees
  • The previous examples were based on one or two
    gene sequences
  • We used these to infer the species tree or
    phylogeny
  • We made the assumption that the Species Tree
    Gene Tree
  • This assumption is based on the assumption that
    the genes we examined evolved with the species
    over time

30
Allopatric Populations
  • The BSC requires gene flow between populations of
    different species to be prevented
  • What are the mechanisms which may prevent gene
    flow and promote speciation
  • Well. Allopatry is one, what are the rest?

31
Reproductive Barriers 2 Major Categories
  • Prezygotic barriers prevents the formation of
    hybrid zygotes
  • Postzygotic barriers reduced fitness of hybrid
    zygotes

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33
Prezygotic Isolation - I
  • Temporal Isolation different mating times
  • Habitat or Resource Isolation isolation by
    using different habitats, different host plants,
    etc..
  • Ethological (Behavioral) Isolation very
    important, courting behavior, seasonal timing of
    mating, species specific recognition, chemical
    recognition of species..

34
Prezygotic Isolation - II
  • Mechanical (or physical)
    Isolation mainly in plants, yet
    lizards and snakes also show this
    (Hemipenes ? lock and key)
  • Gametic Incompatability External
    fertilization Marine Inverts cast sperm eggs
    into the water column (Lysin protein dissolves a
    hole only in egg of same species)

Atractus ventrimaculatus hemipenis
35
Hemipenes of snakes (Atractus)
36
Postzygotic Isolation
  • Hybrid Inviability hybrids fitness ZERO!
  • Hybrid Sterility again No fitness conferred
    to hybrids!

37
Hybridization
  • Occurs when offspring are produced by
    interbreeding between genetically different
    populations.
  • Opportunity to study the interactions between
    selection and gene flow in nature

38
Hybrid zones
  • A hybrid zone is a region where genetically
    distinct populations meet and mate, resulting in
    at least some offspring of mixed ancestry
  • Primary
  • Secondary

39
Hybrid Zones
  • Primary Hybrid zone originate in situ as natural
    selection alters allele frequencies in a series
    of more or less continuously distributed
    populations.
  • Thus the position of the zone is likely to
    correspond to a sharp change in one or more
    environmental factors

40
Hybrid zones
  • Secondary hybrid zones are formed when two
    formerly allopatric populations that have become
    genetically differentiated expand so that they
    meet and interbreed (secondary contact).
  • Thus, the position of the zone does not
    correspond to sharp changes in env.

41
Hybrid Zones
  • In primary zones we would expect the zone to
    occupy areas of pronounced ecological change.
  • Selection would act only on the differences
    stemming from the environmental gradient.

42
Primary Hybrid Zone
Expected pattern of change in the allele freq.
along an environmental gradient
43
Hybrid zone
  • In contrast, secondary zones will occur wherever
    expanding populations meet, and this does not
    have to be at an ecological border.
  • All characters should show a coincident cline.

44
Secondary Hybrid Zone
Expected pattern of change in the allele freq.
from secondary contact.
45
Hybrid Zones
  • The width of the cline will depend on the
    strength of selection, relative to gene flow.

46
Hybrid Zones
  • Dispersal, selection, and linkage all affect the
    distribution of alleles in a hybrid zone.
  • Zone of secondary contact
  • If the F1 and backcrosses are partially fertile
    alleles are going to move.
  • Rate of gene flow and dispersal distance (s)
    broadens the zone
  • Selection narrows the cline

47
Hybrid Zones
  • The width of a cline of a locus or character in a
    hybrid zone varies, locus to locus, depending on
    the strength of selection on that locus or on
    linked loci.
  • Thus even if the fitness of hybrids is quite low,
    alleles at some loci may penetrate far beyond the
    hybrid zone that other loci display
    (introgression)

48
Hybrid Zones
  • Neutral alleles will show a steeper cline than
    expected if they are linked to a locus that is
    subject to selection

49
Hybrid Zones
  • Many zones are concordant clines for allozymes
    and other characters.
  • Estimate that 37 of the hybrid zones seen in
    North America formed since the last glaciations
  • Most zones between pairs of taxa are seen in the
    same place suggesting a common history.

50
Hybrid Zones
  • In North America, quite often, the hybrid zones
    between pairs of taxa are located in the region
    suggesting a commonality in their evolution.
  • This phenomenon is called a suture zone.
  • The great Plains region is a major suture zone.
  • Also, so is the continental divide (across the
    axis of the Rocky Mts

51
EXAMPLE 2Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes
  • Lives at lower elevations in hot-dry desert and
    grassland areas across the US and northern Mexico
  • No obvious drastic boundaries across its range
    that isolate populations Just a huge range!
  • High degree of morphological polymorphism across
    its range

52
South-Central Mexico (San Luis Potosi)
53
S-Eastern Arizona
54
Central Texas
55
East-Central Mexico (Veracruz)
56
PROPOSED BIOGEOGRAPHIC REGIONS
Colorado Desert Sonoran
Desert Chihuahuan Desert/ Trans
Pecos Region Southern Plains/
Ozarks Coastal Plains
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Is Crotalus atrox monophyletic...??
Crotalus tortugensis
Crotalus atrox
Crotalus atrox
Crotalus ruber
59
ML (and Bayesian) Phylogeny for all 50 C. atrox
specimens plus outgoups mt ND4 gene (850bp)
60
C. tortugensis
GENE FLOW Between Desert Regions!!!
61
Only a single hybrid known Common only along
Platte River in central Nebraska hybrids rare or
unknown elsewhere well studied in only a few
locales
62
Hybrid Zones
  • Break down in co-adapted gene complexes or
    genomic disruption
  • Generally hybrids are less fit, get parasites
    easier etc.
  • However in rare cases hybrids have high fitness.

63
Fate of hybrid zones
  • Hybrid zones may persist indefinitely, with
    selection maintaining steep clines at some loci.
  • If zone is a tension zone it may move around
  • Section may favor alleles that enhance prezygotic
    isolation, resulting ultimately in full
    reproductive isolation

64
Fate of hybrid zones
  • Alleles that improve the fitness of hybrids may
    increase in frequency. In the extreme, the
    postzygotic barriers to gene exchange would break
    down, and two populations would become one
    species.
  • In at least part of the hybrid zone, the hybrids
    themselves could evolve reproductive isolation
    from the parent forms, and become a 3rd species.

65
Speciation
66
The History of Life
  • We have been considering how the four
    evolutionary forces affect populations
  • Mutation, natural selection, genetic drift,
    migration
  • Now we will examine how these forces lead to the
    formation of species and higher taxa? How and
    why lineages diversify through time

67
The History of Life
  • Darwins The Origin of Species
  • It is very important to remember that the same
    forces that cause microevolution also cause
    macroevolution
  • The mechanisms are identical, only the scale is
    greater

68
Most Basic Debated Question
  • Is speciation an adaptive process?
  • No doubt different sp. occupy different niches
    and have different coadapted genetic traits
  • But, this does not necessarily mean that
    speciation is inherently adaptive whereby Natural
    Selection builds isolating mechanisms because
    they achieve these results

69
Speciation
  • Reproductive isolation evolves as a by-product of
    genetic changes that occur for other reasons, so
    speciation is incidental, non-adaptive
    consequence of divergence between populations.

70
How Does Speciation Occur?
  • Speciation may be viewed as a three-step process
  • Population isolation
  • Divergence of phenotypes and genotypes
  • Reproductive isolation
  • We will examine each step to understand how
    speciation progresses

71
Modes of speciation (how species are isolated)
  • Two basic groups, along with some special cases
    that dont fit neatly into the paradigm
  • Those that rely on geographic isolation
    (Allopatric)
  • Those that rely on selection (Sympatric and
    Parapatric)
  • Also Speciation through hybridization Speciatio
    n through chromosomal changes (or polyploidy
    events)

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Allopatric Speciation
  • Most Common Mode of Speciation
  • Thousands of examples known
  • Evolution of reproductive barriers between
    populations that are separated by a geographic
    barrier from exchanging genes at more than a
    negligible rate

74
Allopatric Speciation
  • Physical Isolation
  • Migration tends to homogenize genotypes
  • When gene flow is stopped, speciation may occur
  • Migration-selection balance of water snakes in
    Lake Erie
  • Populations did not diverge into banded and plain
    forms because migration kept gene flow active
  • If snakes were prevented from immigrating to the
    island, the two forms might diverge into separate
    species by selection, mutation, and drift

75
Allopatric Speciation
  • Physical Isolation
  • Speciation may occur by Vicariance
  • A new barrier to gene flow arises
  • Mountain range or river
  • Or Dispersal (also called Peripatric)
  • Individuals migrate to new area and a separated
    from their source population, (OR) individuals on
    the edge of parent species range become isolated

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Allopatry Via Dispersal
  • Geographic isolation through dispersal
  • 850 species of Hawaiian Drosophila
  • Exploit a vast number of niches and have highly
    varied body forms
  • Founder Hypothesis of speciation
  • Hawaiian Islands have varied ages and they arose
    in a west to east sequence
  • Founder flies inhabited western island and
    emigrated eastward as other islands arose

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Allopatry Via Dispersal
  • Geographic isolation through dispersal
  • Test founder hypothesis with geology of Hawaiian
    Islands and phylogeny of flies
  • Predictions of founder hypothesis
  • Closely related species will occupy adjacent
    islands
  • Branching sequence should partially coincide with
    island emergence sequence
  • Used mtDNA to estimate phylogeny
  • Founder hypothesis was supported
  • (basically, same pattern seen in Galapagos
    tortoises)

80
Direction of Colonization
81
Allopatry Via Vicariance
  • Geographic isolation through vicariance
  • Ranges of marine organisms were split when the
    Central American Isthmus closed 3 Mya
  • Did this vicariant event cause the speciation
    patterns seen today in snapping shrimp?
  • 7 pairs of morphospecies separated by Isthmus

82
Allopatry Via Vicariance
  • Geographic isolation through vicariance
  • A mtDNA phylogeny demonstrates that formation of
    Central America did appear to split species in
    two
  • Also revealed Cryptic Species
  • Species that cannot be distinguished by
    morphology
  • Species were not all the same age
  • Isthmus arose disjunctly over a long time period

83
Snapping Shrimp
84
P Pacific C Carribian
Sister species cut by Panamanian land bridge
formation Pacific and Caribbean sister species
cannot produce viable offspring!
85
Other Mechanisms of Isolation
  • Changes in Chromosome Number
  • Polyploidization can create barriers to gene flow
    that are not geographic
  • Very important mechanism of isolation in plants
  • 43-70 of extant plant species may have arisen by
    polyploidization
  • Much less common in animals but occasionally
    important in barrier creation
  • Sometimes smaller scale chromosomal changes can
    cause speciation as well

86
What Can Cause Divergence?
  • Mutation? - maybe, but we know its incredibly
    slow
  • Drift? - SURE, especially when populations are
    small
  • Inbreeding? - Yes for genotypes, but only causes
    gene frequency change when coupled with drift or
    selection
  • Selection? - Of course, especially if environment
    differs between two populations
  • Migration? - NO WAY! Gene flow causes populations
    to converge, not diverge. It will negate other
    differentiating forces (drift and selection).
    Populations must be isolated from one another to
    undergo independent evolution.

87
What causes divergence?
  • NOTE isolation by itself is not enough to cause
    differentiation, other factors must be acting to
    cause populations to diverge

88
Mechanisms of Divergence
  • After a barrier has been formed, genetic drift
    and natural selection act on mutations to cause
    divergence in isolated populations
  • Drift is most important in small populations
  • Most species are formed from few individuals
  • Drift may rapidly cause divergence because of
    bottleneck effects

89
The Role of Drift
  • This is very difficult to determine because it is
    tough to tease apart the magnitude of drifts
    impact
  • However, it is definitely a strong force in
    founder effect speciation and other situations
    where Ne is small

90
The Role of Selection
  • Widely held view that vicariant speciation is
    caused by Natural Selection resulting in pre-
    post zygotic incompatibility
  • This occurs while the taxa are allopatric
  • Thus, both pre- and post zygotic isolating
    mechanisms are by-products of divergent selection
    that occurs during allopatry

91
Categories of Selection
  • Ecological Selection side effect of adaptive
    divergence
  • Sexual Selection variation in reproductive
    success due to variation in the ability to
    acquire mates

92
Ecological Selection
  • Almost no evidence but probably is significant
  • Requires the genes underlying the adaptive
    differences either have pleiotropic effects
    resulting in reproductive isolation or be closely
    linked to those genes responsible for isolation

93
Ecological Selection
  • Little known about genes that control pre post
    zygotic isolation
  • Sperm lysin genes of marine inverts. prezygotic
    isolation results from constant change in female
    egg proteins which is chased by evolution of
    male lysin proteins
  • Ground finch (Geospiza) different beak sizes
    will court different species with wrong head

94
Evidence for Ecological Selection ? Parallel
Speciation
  • Independent evolution of the same
    reproductively isolated forms in different
    localities suggests that ecological selection
    can result in speciation
  • Sticklebacks

95
Parallel Speciation Sticklebacks
96
Sexual Selection
  • Arises from competition among individuals of one
    sex (usually males) for access to the other sex,
    or from the preferences of one sex
  • The males secondary sex characteristics
    frequently play a role in both contexts
  • Females choose among conspecific males on the
    basis of the state of one or more features in the
    courtship display
  • Generally the female prefers the male with more
    elaborate stimuli or traits

97
Sexual Selection WHY?
  • Females have a fixed maximum fecundity
  • Males fecundity essentially based on number of
    mates only
  • So, variance in male fitness is always gt female
    fitness

98
Sexual Selection
  • Why females have preference is controversial
  • Runaway selection self reinforcing
  • Preference is adaptive Male traits are
    correlated with fitness
  • Females prefer traits that will produce more
    competitive sons
  • Perceive louder, brighter, etc. against
    background noise
  • Females have sensory biases towards certain
    specific stimuli

99
Sexual Selection
  • The weight of evidence is that sexual selection
    is a major source of pre zygotic isolation
  • Sexually selected characters act as a barrier to
    interbreeding (e.g. Physalaemus call preferred
    only intraspecifically)
  • High species richness of many taxa in which
    sexual selection appears to be diverse and
    intense

100
Sexual Selection
  • Many species that are genetically similar and
    have diversified rapidly
  • These show females which look very similar yet
    males which look VERY different!!
  • Suggests strong female mate choice powering
    speciation (e.g. sea lions!)
  • Study by Barroclaugh found the clade with
    sexual dimorphism contains more species

101
Sexual Selection
  • Hawaiian Drosophila have elaborate courtship
    behaviors and secondary sexual characteristics
  • Males meet in leks and fight to attract females
  • Males have bizarre head shapes to help them win
    fights

102
Sexual Selection
  • D. heteroneura have hammerhead and butt heads
  • during fights
  • D. silvestris have heads just like females and
    grapple during fights
  • Evolutionary scenario
  • Ancestor of both species had normal heads
  • Mutation occurred to cause head-butting behavior
  • Mutants won more contests
  • Mutation increased to fixation in a
    sub-population
  • Additional mutations caused change in head shape
    for better fighting

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104
Peripatric Speciation
  • The process by which drift effects initial
    changes in allele frequencies
  • Then selection may act to further diverge colony
    from parent population

105
Peripatric Speciation
  • How does this differ from Vicariant Allopatry?
  • Typically, most allopatric events are thought of
    as a major split leaving two large populations on
    either side, whereas a Peripatric division
    typically results in the nearly intact parent
    pop. and a small founder population (thus, drift
    is very powerful in the founder)

106
Peripatric Speciation Remember...
  • Genetic change can be very rapid in localized
    populations founded by few individuals cut off
    from gene flow
  • Differences in ecological selection can play a
    role because the environment of a small area is
    often more homogenous than the larger area
  • So... conflicting pressures that act on a
    widespread species may be less numerous and more
    directed at certain adaptations

107
Peripatric Speciation Remember...
  • Allele frequencies at certain loci will be
    different from the parent population due to drift
    and founder effects
  • Changes in allele freq. could create genotypes
    that have higher fitness that Natural Selection
    may select for or against
  • Many species have arisen by peripatric speciation
  • eg. Peromysus maniculatus

108
Peripatric Example Peromysus maniculatus
109
ParapatricSpeciation
  • Evolution of reproductive isolation between
    populations that are continuously distributed in
    space, so that there is substantial movement of
    individuals and genes between them

110
Parapatric Speciation
  • NOTE The observation that two sister species
    have parapatric (or sympatric) ranges does not
    mean that they have speciated parapatrically or
    sympatrically! ? this may instead be allopatry
    followed by secondary contact of ranges once
    distinct

111
Parapatric Speciation
  • Divergent selection GREATER than gene flow over
    time
  • Generally a hybrid zone may be formed
  • The degree of selection and gene flow depend on
    the size of the character clines

112
Secondary Contact
  • If populations come back into contact after steps
    1 and 2, have opportunity to interbreed
  • Hybridization is common in plants and birds
  • Will hybrids be viable and fertile?
  • Will hybrids have characteristics of parent
    species or new characteristics?
  • Depends on outcome of speciation event

113
Secondary Contact
  • Theodosius Dobzhansky formulated the
    reinforcement hypothesis about the third stage of
    speciation
  • If populations sufficiently diverged in
    allopatry, hybrids should have reduced fitness
  • Should be strong selection for assortive mating
  • Selection that reduces fitness of hybrids is
    Reinforcement
  • Completes reproductive isolation

114
Secondary Contact
  • Reinforcement Hypothesis
  • Predicts that pre-zygotic isolation will evolve
    in species in secondary contact
  • Prezygotic isolating mechanisms prevent
    fertilization
  • Mate choice, time of breeding, genetic
    incompatibility
  • Postzygotic isolation
  • Offspring are sterile
  • Reinforcement not necessary

115
Secondary Contact
  • Study by Coyne and Orr showed that prezygotic
    isolation occurs more often in sympatric than
    allopatric species

116
Secondary Contact
  • Hybridization
  • Hybrids should have reduced fitness by
    reinforcement hypothesis
  • Some have normal or increased fitness
  • Sorghum is an important crop
  • Johnsongrass is closely related weed
  • Agriculturalists worried that if they genetically
    engineered herbicide resistance into sorghum it
    might be transferred to johnsongrass

117
Secondary Contact
  • Hybridization
  • Significant gene flow occurred and herbicide
    resistance introgressed into Johnson grass
  • If hybrids have increased fitness, will they form
    their own species?
  • Biologists attempted to recreate the
    hybridization event that lead to the formation of
    Helianthus anomalous
  • Found that certain crosses had higher fitness and
    certain had low
  • High fitness hybrids became new species

118
Secondary Contact
  • Hybridization
  • Hybrid zones occur where recently diverged
    populations overlap
  • May occur by secondary contact or during
    parapatric (or peripatric) speciation
  • Hybrid zones are often present where hybrids have
    equal fitness to parental species
  • Size of hybrid zone depends on fitness of hybrids

119
Secondary Contact
  • Hybridization
  • Study on sagebrush in western US
  • Basin sagebrush found at low elevations
  • Mountain sagebrush found at high elevations
  • Species make contact at middle elevations and
    hybridize
  • Graham compared several fitness measures of
    hybrids and parentals
  • Found that hybrids have superior fitness in
    transitional habitats

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SympatricSpeciation
  • Among the most controversial subjects in
    evolutionary biology
  • Complete panmictic mating and a reproductive
    isolating mechanism evolves within the population

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Sympatric Speciation Possible Mechanisms
  • Polyploidy
  • Disruptive selection, whereby certain homozygous
    genotypes have high fitness on one or the other
    of two resources intermediate (heterozygotes)
    has low fitness

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Sympatric Speciation Polyploidism
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Hybridization in Helianthus
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Sympatric Speciation Disruptive Selection
  • Selection may favor alleles in homozygous
    condition and you get assortive mating
  • But, antagonism likely to arise from alternative
    selection which promotes association between
    alleles for adaptation and alleles for assortive
    mating, and recombination which destroy this
    association
  • This is the greatest opponent to the process of
    Sympatric Speciation
  • In such a model strong selection and tight
    linkage are required... BUT recombination will
    break this down!

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Sympatric Speciation Disruptive Selection
  • Another similar model was proposed by Bush based
    on his work on the apple maggot flies
  • Rhagoletis economically important pest which
    are parasites on the fruits of trees in the
    hawthorn clade
  • Rhagoletis ID host by sight, tough and smell
  • Courtship and mating occur on the fruit
  • Females lay eggs in fruit on the tree
  • eggs hatch in 2 days and develop after fruits
    fall to ground
  • insects burrow into ground, overwinter, and
    emurge next spring

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Mechanisms of Divergence
  • Apple and hawthorn maggot flies
  • Are they different populations?
  • Live in sympatry on adjacent trees
  • Recently diverged because apples are not native
    to US
  • An allozyme study revealed they do form distinct
    populations
  • How have they diverged without initial isolation?
  • Did they skip Step 1?

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Mechanisms of Divergence
  • Apple and hawthorn maggot flies
  • There are other mechanisms for speciation besides
    allopatric
  • Through assortive mating there is only 6 gene
    flow among populations
  • Separated in time by pupating at different times
    of year
  • They are able to maintain distinct populations
    even with gene flow because of strong natural
    selection
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