Sadia Islam-Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms

Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms
A scientific definition of a species is defined as ‘a group of similar organisms that are able to
interbreed and produce a fertile, and viable offspring.’ Sometimes, the biological species are
reproductively isolated from one another after birth, possibly through migration. In this
case, the species get evolved over time and therefore, the reproductive isolating
mechanisms prevent the developing species from interbreeding further.
Geographical isolation:
It is when a population is separated because of a physical geographic feature, such as river

or a mountain range that separates the two subgroups of the population. As a result, the
individuals in the population are no longer able to reproduce together, thus the passing on
of genetic material is also stopped. Geographical isolation also leads to Allopatric speciation.
Consequently, the species in different location start to evolve separately from each other
depending on their environment.
Example: Galápagos finches. Populations of finches is said to be split into nearly 15 different
species as they have evolved separately on the different islands of the Galápagos where
they are found. They all look different and utilise different food sources.
Ecological isolation:
It is when two populations inhabit the same region but develop preferences for different
parts of the habitat. This leads to the ecological isolation of the species as their different
habitat preferences lower their probability of mating.
Example: Anopheles maculipennis group. This group consists of six mosquito species, some
of which are involved in the transmission of malaria. They occupy different estuarine niche
such as freshwater, brackish water and marine. As a result, their ecological preferences
make matings among them rare.
Seasonal isolation:
It is when a portion of a species changes the time, they are awake or time they breed. This
leads to the species reproducing at different times as they can no longer mate with the
other part of the species. Due to this, there will be slight differences between the two
populations that will increase over time, eventually leading to the formation of new species
since this isolation has lead to speciation where the species are no longer sharing any genes.
Example: Gryllus veleti and Gryllus pennsylvanicus are field crickets and they become
sexually mature at different seasons, one in the autumn and the other in the spring.
Behavioural isolation:
It refers to the changes that occur in the courtship ritual, display or mating pattern that
many species perform different mating rituals. This is a common barrier between animals as
some animals do not recognise others as being potential mates. This may be because of a
mutation which changes the colour or pattern of markings.
Example: Peacocks are a beautiful type of bird where the males have large beautiful and
colourful feathers whereas the females have more dull brown coloured feathers. The
females choose their mates based on their interest in the feather colour of the males. If the
males begin to develop a large amount of one colored feather, the females will begin to
choose preferences. This is a behavioral isolation which leads to two different “species” of
peacocks as they are no longer able to mate with each other.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTwT1-TpFhE
(Peacock Courtship | World's Weirdest)
Mechanical isolation:
It is caused by a mutation that changes the reproductive organs including the internal and
external structures of animals, so they can only mate successfully with some members of
the group. In flowers, the changes happen in the stamens and stigma of flowers, making
pollination between some individuals unsuccessful. These chemical barriers prevent the
formation of new individuals and lead to new species being produced.
Example: Snail Shell Coiling. The direction of shell coiling in some snail species is controlled
by a single gene. Left-coiling snails cannot mate with right-coiling snails. Such mutations lead
to further differentiation and possibly, speciation.

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Reproductive Isolating Mechanisms

It is when a population is separated because of a physical geographic feature, such as river

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