Quick Quiz
It looks like your students have some questions about Speciation. Reflect on what you have just learned and see how well you can respond. Just click on their raised hands!
You could respond:
“Not likely. Reproductive isolation is probably necessary for
speciation. If a population persists in reproducing within itself and sharing genes throughout its range, the species will
remain intact.”
You could respond:
“Usually zebras mate only with zebras and donkeys with donkeys.
However, it is not physically impossible for a zebra to mate with a donkey. The offspring of two different organisms is
referred to as a hybrid.”
You could respond:
“No. Recess is in ten minutes.”
You could respond:
“Reproductive isolation is the most common cause. For example,
if some flies land on an island with no flies they may evolve into one or more new species that are different from the species
where they originally came from.”
You could respond:
“No. Many types of ducks look similar but are different species
because they cannot successfully reproduce with one another. A species is often defined as a group of individuals that actually
or potentially interbreed in nature.”
You could respond:
“A species is usually defined as a group of individuals that actually or potentially interbreed in nature. It’s not a perfect definition, but may have to do for now.”
You could respond:
“If by “weird,” you mean unique species, it’s because islands often keep animals from interbreeding with those on other islands. This geographic isolation encourages speciation.”
You could respond:
“I don’t think so because genes are being mixed throughout the human population of six billion people.”
