biology

Laboratory experiments of speciation

Laboratory experiments of speciation is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Laboratory experiments of speciation rather than just read about it. In short: Laboratory experiments of speciation have been conducted for all four modes of speciation: allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric; and various other processes involving speciation: hybridization, reinforcement, founder effects, among others. Most of the experiments have been done on flies, in particular Drosophila fruit flies.

Key takeaways

Laboratory experiments of speciation belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Laboratory experiments of speciation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Laboratory experiments of speciation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Laboratory experiments of speciation have been conducted for all four modes of speciation: allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric; and various other processes involving speciation: hybridization, reinforcement, founder effects, among others. Most of the experiments have been done on flies, in particular Drosophila fruit flies. However, more recent studies have tested yeasts, fungi, and even viruses. It has been suggested that laboratory experiments are not conducive to vicariant speciation events (allopatric and peripatric) due to their small population sizes and limited generations. Most estimates from studies of nature indicate that speciation takes hundreds of thousands to millions of years. On the other hand, many species are thought to have speciated faster and more recently, such as the European flounders (Platichthys flesus) that spawn in pelagic and demersal zones—having allopatrically speciated in under 3000 generations.

Table of experiments Six publications have attempted to compile, review, and analyze the experimental research on speciation:

John Ringo, David Wood, Robert Rockwell, and Harold Dowse in 1985; William R. Rice and Ellen E. Hostert in 1993; Ann-Britt Florin and Anders Ödeen in 2002; Mark Kirkpatrick and Virginie Ravigné in 2002; Jerry A. Coyne and H. Allen Orr in 2004; and James D. Fry in 2009. The table summarizes the studies and data reviewed in these publications. It also references several contemporary experiments and is non-exhaustive. In the table, multiple numbers separated by semi-colons in the generations column indicate that multiple experiments were conducted. The replications (in parentheses) indicates the number of populations used in the experiments—i.e. how many times the experiment was replicated. Various types of selection have been imposed on experimental populations and are indicated by the selection type column. Negative or positive results of each experiment are provided by the reproductive isolation column. Pre-zygotic reproductive isolation means that the reproducing individuals in the populations were unable to produce offspring (effectively a positive result). Post-zygotic isolation means that the reproducing individuals were able to produce offspring but they were either sterile or inviable (a positive result as well). Negative results are indicated by "none"—that is, the experiments did not result in reproductive isolation.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Laboratory experiments of speciation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Laboratory experiments of speciation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Laboratory experiments of speciation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Laboratory experiments of speciation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Laboratory experiments of speciation

In research: Laboratory experiments of speciation appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Laboratory experiments of speciation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Laboratory experiments of speciation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Biology experiments, Speciation, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Laboratory experiments of speciation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Laboratory experiments of speciation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Laboratory experiments of speciation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Laboratory experiments of speciation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Laboratory experiments of speciation in simple terms?

Why does Laboratory experiments of speciation matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Laboratory experiments of speciation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Laboratory experiments of speciation.