Ecosystems – A 4.

1 HL Evolution

Guiding Questions:

“There is overwhelming evidence for the evolution of life on Earth”

Syllabus objectives:

A4.1.8 Differences and similarities between Students should understand that reproductive isolation
AHL sympatric and allopatric speciation can be geographic, behavioural or temporal.
Adaptive radiation allows closely related species to
A4.1.9 Adaptive radiation as a source of
coexist without competing, thereby increasing
AHL biodiversity
biodiversity in ecosystems where there are vacant niches.
Barriers to hybridization and sterility of Courtship behaviour often prevents hybridization in
A4.1.10 interspecific hybrids as mechanisms for animal species. A mule is an example of a sterile hybrid.
AHL of preventing the mixing of alleles
between species
Abrupt speciation in plants by Use knotweed or smartweed (genus Persicaria) as an
A4.1.11
hybridization and polyploidy (alium example because it contains many species that have
AHL
changed to knotweed) been formed by these processes.

1|Page
Sympatric and allopatric speciation:

Reproductive isolation means that species from the same population may not interbreed any longer. Over time,
the members of the isolated population will become so different that they can no longer mate and produce
fertile offsping with the original population.

There are different mechanism of reproductive isolation:

Speciation is the formation of a new species by the splitting of an existing population. Various barriers can
isolate the gene pool of one population from that of the other. Speciation may occur when this happens.

Describe the difference between allopatric and

sympatric speciation:

Geographic isolation:

Geographic isolation is a form of reproductive (allopatric)

isolation in which populations are separated physically by
geographic barriers such as rivers, mountains or
stretches of water.

Harris’ antelope squirrel inhabits the canyon’s south rim.

Just a few miles away on the north rim lives the closely
related white-tailed antelope squirrel. They canyon
separates the two species and prevents interbreeding.
2|Page
Temporal isolation:

Temporal isolation of gene pools occurs in the same area (sympatric isolation). It
usually involves different flowering or mating seasons.

Eastern spotted skunk & western spotted skunk overlap in range but eastern
mates in late winter & western mates in late summer.

Behavioural isolation:

The eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) and western meadowlark

(Sturnella neglecta) are very similar in appearance. The red region in this
map shows where the two species' ranges overlap.

However, very little interspecies mating takes place because of

differences in their songs. Meadowlarks use their songs to recognize
potential mates of their own species.

3|Page
Adaptive radiation as a source of biodiversity:

Adaptive radiation is the diversification of an

ancestral species into new species, characterised by
ecological and morphological diversity, filling
different ecological niches.

Adaptive radiation is already shown with the

example of the pentadactyl limb in vertebrates.
Another examples of adaptive radiation is illustrated
by the beaks of the finches of the Galapagos Islands.
The variation in finch beak morphology is a
genetically controlled characteristics reflecting
differences in feeding habits.

Can you explain how adaptive radiation is a source of biodiversity?

Barriers to hybridization & sterility of interspecific hybrids :

In evolutionary terms, the production of sterile offspring when different species reproduce is a waste of
resources. Although interspecific reproduction happens when ranges of species overlap in an ecosystem they
are typically sterile so that no mixing of alleles occurs. Therefore, many species have produced barriers to
prevent the development of hybrid offspring.

Example: Sterility as a result of hybrids prevent permanent mixing of alleles

How does sterility act as a means to prevent the permanent mixing of alleles?

Mules are infertile yet show many useful traits from both parent species combined. This characteristic is
referred to as hybrid vigor. What sort of characteristics does a mule have making it more “vigorous”?

4|Page
Example: Courtship as a means to prevent interspecific hybrids
Courtship behavior also is designed to be very species-specific to
prevent the mixing of alleles between different species. Can you
explain how courtship prevents interspecific hybrids?

In some cases, however, courtship behavor between closely

related species can be mimicked, and if species live in an
overlapping ecosystem, different species still mate and
produce hybrids. A possible explanation is that these two
species have not had anough time since diverging to evolve
differences in coursthip behavor.

Abrupt speciation in plants by hybridization & polyploidy:

Speciation through gradualism is a slow change through a

series of intermediate forms. Gaps in fossil record (i.e.
absence of intermediate forms) however, caused controversy
for this theory.

If long periods of relative stability is “punctuated” by periods

of rapid evolution, speciation is said to occur abruptly, i.e.
without a long sequence of intermediate forms.

Explain how abrupt speciation can be caused:

Normally adult cells are diploid (two sets of chromosomes), but in polyploidy multiple sets of chromosomes have
formed. Polyploidy is mostly restricted to plant cells and associated with low fertility as mispairing during
meiosis is a likely risk.
5|Page
 Polyploidy may lead to abrupt speciation and sometimes
result in viable species with desirable advantages. Read the
article below and answer the questions.
https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/polyploidy-1552814/

Polyploidy results from an error in meiosis where all the

chromosomes move into one cell instead of separating.
A diploid cell my become tetraploid.

Autotetraploidy versus allotatraploidy:

Can you explain the difference between autotetraploid
and allotetraploid and its consequences for the stability
of a polyploid offspring?

What kind of organism frequently show polyploidy?

In the table below, list advantages and disadvantages of polyploidy:

Advantages Disadvantages

6|Page
«At first sight, the epigenetic changes observed in polyploids would
seem to be deleterious because of their disruptive effects on regulatory
patterns established by selection.» It often seems, however, as if
polyploid species are developing adaptive strategies which allow them
to occupy many ecological niches. Japanese knotweed of the plant
genus Persicaria is an octoploid species which in particular in Europe is
known as an invasive species.

Read through the information on the next page and explain why polyploidy often seems to coincide with the
existence of invasive species:

7|Page
8|Page