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Explain why scientists believe the Abert’s and Kaibab squirrels are examples of speciation.

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Answer: Kaibab squirrels became geographically isolated from Abert's squirrels, which are found on the south rim of the canyon. In isolation, Kaibab squirrel« evolved distinct characteristics, such as a complete whitetail. Abert's squirrels are the original species from which Kaibab squirrels diverged.

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User Want Query
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Answer and explanation;

-The Kaibab Squirrel gives us one nice example of evolution occurring due to geographic isolation.

-About 10,000 years ago when the last ice age ended, physical formations in the canyon changed in a way that blocked the squirrels access to the Colorado River. The canyon became a geographic barrier separating the forests and squirrels on each rim. One population of squirrels had become two separate populations that could no longer interbreed, the kaibab squirrels. Abert’s squirrels are a North American species, found across a range of locations. Kaibab squirrels are a subspecies of Abert’s squirrels, found only in one area in the United States.

-Both the Kaibab squirrel and the Abert’s squirrel live in the ponderosa pine forests, where they build their nests out of twigs and pine needles. They eat acorns, fruit, and fungi, as well as the seeds, bark, and twigs of the trees where they make their home. The Kaibab squirrel's most significant source of food is the seeds found within ponderosa pine cones.

User Subba Rao
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