SPECIATION
Sharon Patton
June 1, 2015
Colorado Technical University
Purpose
The purpose of this lab is to explain what would happen if a species were split into two groups by an earthquake, creating a physical barrier between the two groups. Showing how the formation of a new species can evolve.
Introduction
Speciation is when a species is created from the splitting of a species. In other words if a group of a certain species is separated say by an earthquake, the group that remains in the geographical area will stay the same, but the group that has been separated out to another area will begin to adapt to that area and over many years develop certain changes causing it to be a new species. …show more content…
Learning from the National Geographic there are four different types of speciation. All have to do with separation or isolation of one group from the other. Realizing that the time for a new species to evolve could be a process over millions of years, like the example of the Galapagos finches, being isolate from one another by ocean. Over millions of years, each species of finch has developed a unique beak. (National Geographic, 2015)
Results/Outcome
If a species is separated by any means causing a barrier between them they cannot mate with each other causing reproductive isolation, because of the reproductive isolation, natural selection will occur and the species will begin to change. Noting this can take thousand or maybe millions of years. Looking up the example of the polar bear recent studies suggest that polar bears split from a common brown bears 350,000 – 6 million years ago, undergoing a series of evolutionary changes in order to survive in the Arctic. (Polar Bears International,