Textbook Question
Explain why allopatric speciation would be less likely on an island close to a mainland than on a more isolated island.
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23. Speciation
Introduction to Speciation
Back23. Speciation
Introduction to Speciation
- Textbook Question
Svante Pääbo and colleagues were the first to sequence the Neanderthal genome from fossils and compare the sequences to modern humans. According to the data shown here, did the two species interbreed when they overlapped in Europe? Explain.
818views - Textbook QuestionWhat does the term punctuated equilibria describe?879views
- Textbook Question
In a follow-up study in 2020, Joshua Akey and colleagues discovered that the genomes of modern Africans contain a small amount of Neanderthal DNA due to migration of some Europeans back to Africa after interbreeding with Neanderthals. Given the large amount of variation within human populations, how would you know whether there is a significant difference in percentage of Neanderthal DNA between modern Europeans and modern Africans?
552views - Textbook QuestionCan factors that cause sympatric speciation also cause allopatric speciation? Explain.1479views
- Textbook QuestionCultivated American cotton plants have a total of 52 chromosomes (2n = 52). In each cell, there are 13 pairs of large chromosomes and 13 pairs of smaller chromosomes. Old World cotton plants have 26 chromosomes (2n = 26), all large. Wild American cotton plants have 26 chromosomes, all small. Propose a testable hypothesis to explain how cultivated American cotton probably originated.1142views
- Textbook Question
Explain how the murky waters of Lake Victoria may be contributing to the decline in cichlid species. How might these polluted waters affect the formation of new species?
793views - Textbook QuestionThe red wolf, Canis rufus, which was once widespread in the southeastern and south central United States, was declared extinct in the wild by 1980. Saved by a captive breeding program, the red wolf has been reintroduced in areas of eastern North Carolina. The current wild population is estimated to be about 100 individuals. It is presently being threatened with extinction due to hybridization with coyotes, Canis latrans, which have become more numerous in the area. Red wolves and coyotes differ in terms of morphology, DNA, and behavior, although these differences may disappear if interbreeding continues. Although the red wolf has been designated as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, some people think that its endangered status should be withdrawn and resources should not be spent to protect what is not a 'pure' species. Do you agree? Why or why not?1100views