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Drivers of speciation - Coggle Diagram
Drivers of speciation
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Many marine species are limited in their ability to cope with changes in the water
temperature of their habitat. This could be one explanation for the high endemic
biodiversity on the South African coastline, where several clearly distinguishable
biogeographic regions can be identified, caused by the coastal geography and
mixing of the warm Agulhas and cold Benguela currents.
Another possible cause of isolation is the adaptations of some individuals enabling
them to move to a different habitat or exploit a different food source. They thus move
progressively further away to avoid competition. This is a process which could have
been a driving force in the slow migration of organisms from the oceans to dry land.
Reproductive isolation
It is possible that an isolated group of a population may change in some aspect of their reproductive process, to the extent that they will not reproduce with the original
population when reintroduced, even if it could be possible. This would continue to exclude the previously isolated group until they are eventually a different species.
Some examples of reproductive differences could be different breeding seasons, courtship, pheromones, pollinators or copulating organs/methods of fertilizations.
This is extremely rare in marine environments, given that spawning with external
fertilizations is the most common means of fertilizations. It would mean that reproductive isolation would be limited to populations that have evolved in isolation from each other and spawn at different times or practice internal fertilizations requiring specifically evolved mating behavior.
Micro-evolution= the increase in diversity within a population in a relatively short period of time.
Macro- evolution= increasing diversity within a population, eventually leading to entirely new species.
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Anthropocene= the most recent subdivision of the geologic time scale, indicating the period of time during which human beings have existed.
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Microclimate= slightly different conditions in a particular habitat within an ecosystem, brought about by a difference in a local abiotic factor.
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Biodiversity= The full variety of organisms found in a defined location as well as the variability within individual species.