Question

A pine forest covers a valley, and one of the inhabitants is a fox species. After days of rain, a river forms and separates the valley with a river that the foxes cannot cross, thus producing two isolated populations of foxes. What change needs to occur for the two populations of foxes to become separate species?

Answer 1

The correct answer is: Reprodutive Isolation.

Explanation:

• According to the question, the formation of a river in their habitat separates the foxes into two populations which are unable to come into contact with each other.
• Gradually with the passage of time,each of the populations of foxes develop mutations which make them more adaptable to the different environments they are exposed to.
• This eventually results in the development of a reproductive barrier in between the two populations.
• Reproductive isolation can be defined as the evolutionary phenomenon due to which individuals belonging to two different species are incapable of reproducing or mating and producing viable and fertile offspring.
• Reproductive isolation results into the formation of  new species.
• In the given question, the two populations of foxes gradually undergoes divergent evolution to form two different species.