Imagine you are at the top of a mountain looking down. As you hike from the highest elevation to the lowest elevation, you find
three different species of related mice. None of them are found at the same elevation, and the vegetation changes at each elevation level. Using species C as a reference, you find that there are more genetic differences between species A and species C than between species A and species B. Which of the statements would best reflect the mode of speciation in these mice?
A. Only genetic drift is responsible for the differences observed.
B. Speciation was allopatric or peripatric, but would depend on the number of individuals that dispersed from the original population.
C. Species C arose from species A later than species B.
The mode of speciation exhibited by these mice might follow the allopatric or peripatric pattern in that since these mice are in some ways related as stated, it is possible species C has become isolated from a peripheral population (in this case a peripatric speciation) due to maybe some geographical changes (allopatric speciation in general) as seen in vegetation changes at each elevation level and also no gene flow occurs between these population. And this depends on the number of individuals that dispersed from the original population. If large, it might be mainly by genetic drift.
Which of the statements would best reflect the mode of speciation in these mice?
B. Speciation was allopatric or peripatric, but would depend on the number of individuals that dispersed from the original population.
Explanation:
Speciation is a process related to evolution. In this process, populations evolve to become distinct species. Based on the extent to which speciating populations can be isolated from one another:<em> allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric.</em> These are four geographic modes of speciation in nature. In this case, <em>speciation was allopatric or peripatric, but would depend on the number of individuals that dispersed from the original population.
</em>
