Can gene flow cause speciation?

Can gene flow cause speciation?

In contrast, restricted gene flow promotes population divergence via selection and drift, which, if persistent, can lead to speciation.

How does gene flow affect the evolution of species?

The effect of gene flow is to reduce genetic differences between populations, thereby preventing or delaying the evolution of the populations in different geographical areas into separate species of the pathogen.

What is speciation with gene flow?

Introduction. Speciation is responsible for the origin of biological diversity (Gavrilets 2003), and typically begins with a barrier to gene flow, which promotes further genetic and phenotypic divergence (Nosil and Feder 2012).

Does gene flow reduce variation?

Gene flow within a population can increase the genetic variation of the population, whereas gene flow between genetically distant populations can reduce the genetic difference between the populations.

Does reduced gene flow always result in speciation?

Even in the absence of a geographic barrier, reduced gene flow across a species’ range can encourage speciation.

What is reduction in gene flow?

Chromosome mutations are more efficient in reducing gene flow with low migration rates than with high ones. The interaction between high values of partial heterozygote sterility and low recombination rates can produce, in the low migration pattern, a drastic reduction of gene flow.

What is reduced gene flow?

Can disruptive selection lead to speciation?

Disruptive selection is a specific type of natural selection that actively selects against the intermediate in a population, favoring both extremes of the spectrum. Disruptive selection is inferred to oftentimes lead to sympatric speciation through a phyletic gradualism mode of evolution.

What events can cause speciation?

Scientists think that geographic isolation is a common way for the process of speciation to begin: rivers change course, mountains rise, continents drift, organisms migrate, and what was once a continuous population is divided into two or more smaller populations.

What prevents speciation from occurring?

Interbreeding
Interbreeding prevents speciation from occuring in sympatric populations. Sympatric populations are groups of organisms that live in the same area. …

Which type of selection directional disruptive or stabilizing will most likely lead to speciation?

Diversifying
Diversifying (or disruptive) selection: Diversifying selection occurs when extreme values for a trait are favored over the intermediate values. This type of selection often drives speciation.

What is the effect of disruptive selection?

Disruptive selection is an evolutionary force that drives a population apart. The disruptive selection will cause organsisms with intermediate traits to reproduce less, and will allow those organisms with extreme traits to reproduce more. This causes the alleles for the extreme traits to increase in frequency.