Types of Speciation
- Allopatric Speciation: In this type of species formation, a part of the population becomes geographically isolated from the main population. An example of Allopatric Speciation is Darwin’s finches which lead to the theory of evolution.
- Sympatric Speciation: This type of speciation occurs between populations occupying the same geographic range. This type of speciation is common in herbivore insects when a new plant is introduced into a geographic range of species.
- Parapatric Speciation: It separates adjacent populations. Parapatric speciation takes place when a population of a species enters a new niche or habitat. When a portion of a surrounding has been polluted, the type of speciation that occurs is known as parapatric speciation. Polluted environments include mining activities that leave waste with high amounts of metal such as lead and zinc.
Speciation and Evolution
Through the process of reproduction, individuals give rise to new individuals that are similar (not the same) to the parents. This similarity in progeny or offspring or child is due to the transmission of characters or traits from parents to their progeny. The transfer of characters from parents to offspring is known as heredity and the process through which characters or traits pass from one generation to another is called inheritance.
But, according to practical basis offspring are never a true copy of their parents, e.g., in a sugarcane field that are differences among individual plants, similarly in all human beings have different characteristics, complexion, height, eye colors, etc., these differences among the individuals of a species are called variations. Variations in plants are much lesser than in human beings.
The long-term accumulation of variations leads to evolving of a new species and the process is called evolution. It is a complex process and occurs over a long period of time.