Question

Recent research has found that on one island of the Galapagos two finch species interbred. This interbreeding may have resulted in a hybrid species that ultimately led to the extinction of one of the species Darwin discovered. They call this speciation in reverse, or despeciation. Based on what you know about speciation, why are these terms appropriate?

Answer 1

Speciation is the method by which unique species evolve from a common ancestor. In this case, two of these species that split from a common ancestor interbred and created a hybrid. This hybrid was apparently stronger and possibly better adapted to the environment, which led to extinction of a species formed by the initial speciation event.

Step-by-step explanation:

Plato

Answer 2

Speciation is defined as an evolutionary process in which one population evolves into a distinct species.

Speciation in reverse, or despeciation is defined as the extinction of an old species due to combining with evolved species to produce hybrid species but it conserves biological lineage.

In the given research, the term used despeciation or speciation in reverse is appropriate as hybrid species resulted from interbreeding of Galapagos two finch species conserved the biological lineage but also loss one of the species Darwin discovered.