Question

Lizards of a certain species usually had brown color, but due to continental drift, a population split by the sea resulted in black and red lizards with reproductive isolations. Answer the following:

Define the term species.
a) A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
b) A population with similar traits
c) A group with common ancestry
d) A collection of different organisms

How many species of lizards resulted?
a) One
b) Two
c) Three
d) Four

Explain any THREE reproductive isolation mechanisms.
a) Geographic isolation, temporal isolation, behavioral isolation
b) Hybrid sterility, mechanical isolation, gametic isolation
c) Genetic drift, gene flow, bottleneck effect
d) Homologous structures, analogous structures, vestigial structures

Use Darwin's explanation to explain how new species of lizards formed.

Describe how evolution occurs as explained by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Gould.

Answer 1

A species is defined as organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

The correct answer is option a) A group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

Two species of lizards resulted due to reproductive isolation caused by geographic separation.

The correct answer is option b) Two.

Reproductive isolation can occur through geographic, temporal, or behavioral mechanisms.

The correct answer is option a) Geographic isolation, temporal isolation, behavioral isolation.

Step-by-step explanation:

A species is a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring, which fits option (a).

Given that a population of lizards has been split by the sea and now consists of brown, black, and red lizards with reproductive isolation, the correct answer for how many species of lizards resulted is (b) Two.

This is because the different color populations can no longer interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

Reproductive isolation mechanisms include:

• Geographic isolation: When a physical barrier, such as a sea, divides a population.
• Temporal isolation: When breeding times do not overlap.
• Behavioral isolation: When there are differences in mating rituals or behaviors.

Darwin's explanation for the formation of new species, known as allopatric speciation, suggests that when populations of a species are geographically separated, they develop into separate species through natural selection and other evolutionary processes.

Evolution as explained by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Gould occurs through the theory of punctuated equilibrium, where species evolve rapidly during short periods of evolutionary change followed by longer periods of stasis, contrasting the gradual change approach.