Reproductive Isolation
What is reproductive isolation?
Reproductive isolation is a process in which individuals in a population are prevented from reproducing. This isolation can occur in several ways, such as a physical barrier that separated these species into two groups that will reproduce with each other and generate a new species.
Why is it necessary for speciation to occur?
Speciation is an essential evolutionary process for the creation of new species. It is worth remembering that from reproductive isolation, the individuals of a population have been differentiating and evolving and in the end, there will be a different species from the initial one. Therefore, speciation is necessary for the emergence of new species.
Explain one way reproductive isolation might occur.
Reproductive isolation may occur due to a geographic barrier. In this case, a population is separated by a geographic barrier such as a river, a canyon, or a mountain, thus generating subpopulations that will begin to evolve and adapt in different ways. In the end, we will have different subpopulations, but in the beginning, they were part of the same population.