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Species & speciation

What defines a species. How new species can arise from existing species.

Key points

  • According to the biological species concept, organisms belong to the same species if they can interbreed to produce viable, fertile offspring.
  • Species are separated from one another by prezygotic and postzygotic barriers, which prevent mating or the production of viable, fertile offspring.
  • Speciation is the process by which new species form. It occurs when groups in a species become reproductively isolated and diverge.
  • In allopatric speciation, groups from an ancestral population evolve into separate species due to a period of geographical separation.
  • In sympatric speciation, groups from the same ancestral population evolve into separate species without any geographical separation.

Introduction

On some level, the idea of a species is pretty intuitive. You don't need to be a zoologist to classify organisms like humans, giant pandas, or sunflowers into groups based on their appearance. This method works well when the species in question look very different from one another. You probably wouldn’t mistake a panda for a sunflower—unless you really needed your glasses!
But when we get right down to it, what really make a species a species? Organisms that look alike often belong to the same species, but this isn’t always the case. I for one can't tell the African fish eagle and the bald eagle apart from the photos below. But they are, in fact, different species.
Some species appear similar to one another. For instance, the African fish eagle and bald eagle are different species that look remarkably alike.
Image credit: modified from Formation of new species: Figure 2 by OpenStax College, Biology CC BY 4.0
On the flip side, organisms that belong to the same species can look very different from one another. For instance, dogs come in all shapes and sizes—from tiny Chihuahuas to massive Great Danes—but they all belong to the same species: Canis familiaris, the domestic dog.
Individuals belonging to the same species can vary in their physical appearance. For example, the Great Dane and Chihuahua both belong to the same species, the domestic dog, though the former is much larger than the latter.
Image credit: Big and little dog by Ellen Levy Finch, CC BY-SA 3.0
If appearance doesn’t reliably define a species, then what does? For most eukaryotes—such as animals, plants, and fungi—scientists tend to define a species based on reproductive compatibility. That is, organisms are usually considered to be members of the same species if they can successfully reproduce with one another.
In this article, we will explore how species are defined in greater detail. We'll also look at speciation, the process by which new species arise.

The biological species concept

According to the most widely used species definition, the biological species concept, a species is a group of organisms that can potentially interbreed, or mate, with one another to produce viable, fertile offspring.
In this definition, members of the same species must have the potential to interbreed. However, that doesn't mean they have to be part of the same interbreeding group in real life. For instance, a dog living in Australia and a dog living in Africa are unlikely to meet but could have puppies if they did.
In order to be considered to be a single species in the biological species concept, a group of organisms must produce healthy, fertile offspring when they interbreed. In some case, organisms of different species can mate and produce healthy offspring, but the offspring are infertile, can’t reproduce.
For example, when a female horse and a male donkey mate, they produce hybrid offspring called mules. Although a mule, pictured below, is perfectly healthy and can live to a ripe old age, it is infertile and cannot have its own offspring. Because of this, we consider horses and donkeys separate species.
Hybrids are the offspring of two species. A mule is the hybrid offspring of a female horse and male donkey. Because mules are sterile, they are not classified as a distinct species.
Image credit: Juancito by Dario u, public domain
The biological species concept connects the idea of a species to the process of evolution. Because members of a species can interbreed, the species as a whole has a common gene pool, a collection of gene variants.
On the other hand, genes are not exchanged between different species. Even if organisms of different species combine their DNA to make offspring, the offspring will be sterile, unable to pass on their genes. Because of this restricted gene flow, each species evolves as a group distinct from other species.

What keeps species distinct?

The biological species concept defines organisms as being, or not being, of the same species based on whether they can interbreed to make fertile offspring. But why is it that different species can't successfully interbreed? This question may seem silly for very different species (like a plant and an animal), but for others like the horse and the donkey above, it's much less obvious.
Broadly speaking, different species are unable to interbreed and produce healthy, fertile offspring due to barriers called mechanisms of reproductive isolation.
These barriers can be split into two categories based on when they act: prezygotic and postzygotic.

Prezygotic barriers

Prezygotic barriers prevent members of different species from mating to produce a zygote, a single-celled embryo. Some example scenarios are below:
  • Two species might prefer different habitats and thus be unlikely to encounter one another. This is called habitat isolation.
  • Two species might reproduce at different times of the day or year and thus be unlikely to meet up when seeking mates. This is called temporal isolation.
  • Two species might have different courtship behaviors or mate preferences and thus find each other "unattractive". This is known as behavioral isolation.
  • Two species might produce egg and sperm cells that can't combine in fertilization, even if they meet up through mating. This is known as gametic isolation.
  • Two species might have bodies or reproductive structures that simply don't fit together. This is called mechanical isolation.
These are all examples of prezygotic barriers because they prevent a hybrid zygote from ever forming.

Postzygotic barriers

Postzygotic barriers keep hybrid zygotes—one-celled embryos with parents of two different species—from developing into healthy, fertile adults. Postzygotic barriers are often related to the hybrid embryo's mixed set of chromosomes, which may not match up correctly or carry a complete set of information.
In some cases, the chromosomal mismatch is lethal to the embryo or results in an individual that can survive but is unhealthy. In other cases, a hybrid can survive to adulthood in good health but is infertile because it can't split its mismatched chromosomes evenly into eggs and sperm. For example, this type of mismatch explains why mules are sterile, unable to reproduce4.
Prezygotic and postzygotic barriers not only keep species distinct, but also play a role in the formation of new species, as we'll see next.

How do new species arise?

New species arise through a process called speciation. In speciation, an ancestral species splits into two or more descendant species that are genetically different from one another and can no longer interbreed.
Darwin envisioned speciation as a branching event. In fact, he considered it so important that he depicted it in the only illustration of his famous book, On the Origin of Species, below left. A modern representation of Darwin's idea is shown in the evolutionary tree of elephants and their relatives, below right, which reconstructs speciation events during the evolution of this group.
Two diagrams are shown. The diagram on the left is a replication of Darwin’s original representation of an evolutionary tree. The diagram has 15 parallel horizontal lines numbered with roman numerals from top to bottom XIV, XIII, XII, XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I representing levels of evolution. Below the bottom line are letters representing the origin of 11 species written from left to right A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L. Extending from the letters are multiple small dotted lines with various small branches on the numbered horizontal lines to create a tree-like pattern. Across the top of horizontal line XIV are 15 species that are present at this evolutionary point. Six species have died out over evolutionary time, one species did not evolve at all, and the remaining 4 species evolved to result in 14 species. The diagram on the right is a branched tree depicting the speciation of the Asian and African elephants from a common ancestor. The Asian elephant and the African elephant are at the top of the diagram and have separate lines that connect in the center at an image labeled Primelephas. Below the Primelephas there is a line with an image connecting it to a Gomphotherium, and then a line to the original species labeled Palaeomastodon. From Palaeomastodon there is a branch to the right that gives rise to 2 lines; one to a Mastodon and the other to a Stegodon. On the left side of the left side of the diagram, a line to an image labeled Anancus branches above the Gomphotherium, and a line above the Primelephas just before the Asian Elephant branches to an image labeled mammoth.
Image credit: Formation of new species: Figure 3 by OpenStax College, Biology, CC BY 4.0
For speciation to occur, two new populations must be formed from one original population, and they must evolve in such a way that it becomes impossible for individuals from the two new populations to interbreed. Biologists often divide the ways that speciation can occur into two broad categories:
  • Allopatric speciation—allo meaning other and patric meaning homeland—involves geographic separation of populations from a parent species and subsequent evolution.
  • Sympatric speciation—sym meaning same and patric meaning homeland—involves speciation occurring within a parent species remaining in one location.
Let's take a closer look at these forms of speciation and how they work.

Allopatric speciation

In allopatric speciation, organisms of an ancestral species evolve into two or more descendant species after a period of physical separation caused by a geographic barrier, such as a mountain range, rockslide, or river.
Sometimes barriers, such as a lava flow, split populations by changing the landscape. Other times, populations become separated after some members cross a pre-existing barrier. For example, members of a mainland population may become isolated on an island if they float over on a piece of debris.
Once the groups are reproductively isolated, they may undergo genetic divergence. That is, they may gradually become more and more different in their genetic makeup and heritable features over many generations. Genetic divergence happens because of natural selection, which may favor different traits in each environment, and other evolutionary forces like genetic drift.
As they diverge, the groups may evolve traits that act as prezygotic and/or postzygotic barriers to reproduction. For instance, if one group evolves large body size and the other evolves small body size, the organisms may not be physically able to mate—a prezygotic barrier—if the populations are reunited.
If the reproductive barriers that have arisen are strong—effectively preventing gene flow—the groups will keep evolving along separate paths. That is, they won't exchange genes with one another even if the geographical barrier is removed. At this point, the groups can be considered separate species.

Case study: squirrels and the Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon was gradually carved out by the Colorado River over millions of years. Before it formed, only one species of squirrel inhabited the area. As the canyon got deeper over time, it became increasingly difficult for squirrels to travel between the north and south sides.
The Grand Canyon in Arizona was gradually carved out by the Colorado River over millions of years. As the canyon deepened, it acted as geographic barrier to squirrel populations on either side. Two squirrel species evolved as a result of allopatric speciation.
Image credit: Toroweap sunrise by John Fowler, CC BY 2.0
Eventually, the canyon became too deep for the squirrels to cross and a subgroup of squirrels became isolated on each side. Because the squirrels on the north and south sides were reproductively isolated from one another due to the deep canyon barrier, they eventually diverged into different species5.
Harris's antelope squirrel evolved on the south side of the Grand Canyon as a result of allopatric speciation.
The white-tailed antelope squirrel evolved on the north side of the Grand Canyon as a result of allopatric speciation.
Image credit: left, image modified from Ammospermophilus harrisii by Ryan Johnston, CC BY 2.0; right, image modified from Ammospermophilus leucurus by Jarek Tuszynski, CC BY-SA 3.0

Sympatric speciation

In sympatric speciation, organisms from the same ancestral species become reproductively isolated and diverge without any physical separation.
At first, this idea may seem kind of weird, especially after thinking about allopatric speciation. Why would groups of organisms in a population stop interbreeding when they still live in the same place?
There are several ways that sympatric speciation can happen. However, one mechanism that's quite common—in plants, that is!—involves chromosome separation errors during cell division. Let's take a closer look at this process.

Polyploidy

Polyploidy is the condition of having more than two full sets of chromosomes. Unlike humans and other animals, plants are often tolerant of changes in their number of chromosome sets, and an increase in chromosome sets, a.k.a. ploidy, can be an instant recipe for plant sympatric speciation.
How could polyploidy lead to speciation? As an example, let’s consider the case where a tetraploid plant—4n, having four chromosome sets—suddenly pops up in a diploid population—2n, having two chromosome sets.
Such a tetraploid plant might arise if chromosome separation errors in meiosis produced a diploid egg and a diploid sperm that then met up to make a tetraploid zygote. This process is shown in a general schematic below, but if you'd like to know more about how the separation errors could actually happen, you can learn more in the nondisjunction article.
A diagram showing how a diploid plant can become a tetraploid plant. The first image is a circle labeled Diploid plant, 2n and the circle contains 3 pairs of chromosomes; one pair is purple, one pair is red, and one pair is blue. There are 2 arrows pointing from the circle at two new circles. The arrows are labeled Meiosis error and each circle is labeled 2n, Diploid egg and sperm. Each circle contains 3 pairs of chromosomes; one pair is purple, one pair is red and one pair is blue. There is an arrow pointing from each of those circles towards the last circle in the diagram. The last circle is labeled Tetraploid plant, 4n and it contains 6 pairs of chromosomes; two pairs are purple, two pairs are red, and two pairs are blue.
Image credit: modified from Polyploidization by Ilmari Karonen, public domain
When the tetraploid plant matures, it will make diploid, 2n, eggs and sperm. These eggs and sperm can readily combine with other diploid eggs and sperm via self-fertilization, which is common in plants, to make more tetraploids.
On the other hand, the diploid eggs and sperm may or may not combine effectively with the haploid, 1n, eggs and sperm from the parental species. Even if the diploid and haploid gametes do get together to produce a triploid plant with three chromosome sets, this plant would likely be sterile because its three chromosome sets could not pair up properly during meiosis.
A diagram showing how a triploid plant is formed. There are 2 circles at the top of the diagram. The circle on the left is labeled Diploid plant, 2n and contains 3 pairs of chromosomes; one pair is purple, one pair is red and one pair is blue. The circle on the right is labeled 4n tetraploid plant and it contains 6 pairs of chromosomes; two pairs are purple, two pairs are red, and two pairs are blue. From each circle there is an arrow pointing down to a new circle. The diploid plant points to a circle labeled haploid egg/sperm, n and it contains 1 red, 1 purple and 1 blue chromatid. The tetraploid plant points to a circle labeled diploid egg/sperm, 2n and it contains 3 pairs of chromosomes; 2 blue, 2 red, and 2 purple. From these 2 haploid and diploid circles there is an arrow from each that connects and points down to a final circle labeled Non-viable or infertile triploid plant, 3n. The final circle contains 3 pairs of chromosomes; 2 blue, 2 red, and 2 purple, and 3 chromatids; 1 blue, 1 red, and 1 purple.
Image credit: modified from Polyploidization by Ilmari Karonen, public domain
Because the tetraploid plants and the diploid species from which they came cannot produce fertile offspring together, we consider them two separate species. This means that speciation occurred after just a single generation!
Speciation by polyploidy is common in plants but rare in animals. In general, animal species are much less likely to tolerate changes in ploidy. For instance, human embryos that are triploid or tetraploid are non-viable—they cannot survive.

Sympatric speciation without polyploidy

Can sympatric speciation, speciation without geographical separation, occur by mechanisms other than polyploidy? There’s some debate about how important or common a mechanism it is, but the answer appears to be yes, at least in some cases. For instance, sympatric speciation may take place when subgroups in a population use different habitats or resources, even though those habitats or resources are in the same geographical area.
One classic example is the North American apple maggot fly. As the name suggests, North American apple maggot flies, like the one pictured below, can feed and mate on apple trees. The original host plant of these flies, however, was the hawthorn tree. It was only when European settlers introduced apple trees about 200 years ago that some flies in the population started to exploit apples as a food source instead6,7.
The apple maggot fly is thought to have evolved through sympatric speciation from its ancestor, the North American maggot fly. This example of sympatric speciation occurred through habitat differentiation: apple maggot flies began to prefer apple trees as host plants, whereas their ancestors used hawthorn trees.
Image credit: Rhagoletis pomonella.jpg by Joseph Berger, CC BY 3.0
The flies that were born in apples tended to feed on apples and mate with other flies on apples, while the flies born on hawthorns tended to similarly stick with hawthorns7. In this way, the population was effectively divided into two groups with limited gene flow between them, even though there was no reason an apple fly couldn't go over to a hawthorne tree, or vice versa.
Over time, the population diverged into two genetically distinct groups with adaptations, features arising by natural selection, that were specific for apple and hawthorne fruits. For instance, the apple and hawthorne flies emerge at different times of year, and this genetically specified difference synchronizes them with the emergence date of the fruit on which they live8,9.
Some interbreeding still occurs between the apple-specialized flies and the hawthorne-specialized flies, so they are not yet separate species. However, many scientists think this is a case of sympatric speciation in progress.

Summary

The biological species concept defines a species as a group of individuals living in one or more populations that can potentially interbreed to produce healthy, fertile offspring. Other species concepts exist and may be more useful for certain types of organisms.
Species are kept distinct from one another by prezygotic and postzygotic barriers. These barriers keep organisms of different species from mating to produce fertile offspring, acting before and after the formation of a zygote, respectively. These barriers maintain the reproductive isolation of species.
New species form by speciation, in which an ancestral population splits into two or more genetically distinct descendant populations. Speciation involves reproductive isolation of groups within the original population and accumulation of genetic differences between the two groups.
In allopatric speciation, groups become reproductively isolated and diverge due to a geographical barrier. In sympatric speciation, reproductive isolation and divergence occur without geographical barriers—for example, by polyploidy.

Want to join the conversation?

  • orange juice squid orange style avatar for user JV
    There are now evidence showing that Homo sapiens interbred with Neanderthals and produced offspring. These offsprings seems to be fertile since the study found traces of Neanderthals DNA in modern humans. (see http://www.wired.co.uk/article/dna-analysis-humans-neanderthals-breeding)

    So, if organisms which can interbreed to produce viable, fertile offspring means that they belong to the same species, does this mean we (modern day human, Homo sapiens) is the same specie as the extinct Neanderthals?
    (11 votes)
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    • female robot grace style avatar for user tyersome
      Hybridization is known to happen between what are generally accepted to be different species — sometimes this leads to new species, other times some traits from one species become incorporated into another species. This second possibility is what seems to have happened with Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis. However, some people now argue that Neanderthals were in fact just a subspecies.

      Note that the definition of "species" is hotly debated among evolutionary biologists and none of the (numerous) proposed definitions seems to adequately cover all cases. (This is a lot like our attempts to define "life" — we can list characteristics, but they don't all apply in all situations.)

      This website has an accessible discussion of some of the complications associated with trying to define species:
      https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_40
      (6 votes)
  • leafers tree style avatar for user johananmahendran
    Why haven't dogs undergone speciation yet? What major changes must one breed undergo in order that they become incompatible to mate to another bread?
    (6 votes)
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    • aqualine ultimate style avatar for user Talos
      Dogs are currently undergoing speciation. However, because they have only recently have split into many breeds, it will take much more time for them to become different species. One breed must keep mating with it's own kind for a long period of time and must not mate with the other breed. Eventually the genetic information of the first breed will become so different from the genetic information in the other breed that the two breeds will become separate species and will be unable to have fertile offspring or offspring at all.
      (9 votes)
  • duskpin sapling style avatar for user Allyson Lee
    why is polyploidy more common in plants than in animals? this article says it's because plants "are more tolerant of changes in their # of chromosome sets" but why are they more tolerant?
    (3 votes)
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    • duskpin tree style avatar for user Vik
      They are constantly influenced by variable factors of their environment which may cause more changes in their karyotype. Moreover, most plant species produce lots of seeds through sexual regeneration by which the chance of genomic changes would be increased.
      (2 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user daraghaznavi69
    Suppose that two groups of animals are reproductively separated due to a mechanical barrier, but if we artificially fuse their gametes and implant the resultant zygote in a female womb, the zygote can develop into a healthy fertile organism. Now should we consider the two groups separate species or not?
    (2 votes)
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  • leaf green style avatar for user Onwudiwe Natachi
    What is the barrier to zygote production for the Antelope squirrels (besides the Grand Canyon)? For example, if someone were to physically move a group of White tail squirrels from one side of the canyon to the other, would anything prevent them from mating with the Harris squirrel and producing viable, fertile offspring? If not, then are they not of the same species?
    (2 votes)
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    • female robot grace style avatar for user tyersome
      There may not be a barrier — I did a brief look online, but didn't find anything relevant and don't know whether anyone has tried making hybrids of those two species.

      The definition of "species" is hotly debated among evolutionary biologists and none of the (numerous) proposed definitions seems to adequately cover all cases. (This is a lot like our attempts to define "life" — we can list characteristics, but they don't all apply in all situations.)

      This website has an accessible discussion of some of the complications associated with trying to define species:
      https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_40
      (2 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user handeoguzhan99
    What can speed up speciation process?
    (1 vote)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user kb10022
    How do scientists normally determine if two organisms are of the same species?
    (2 votes)
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  • scuttlebug green style avatar for user Uma
    I heard that dogs evolved from wolf species that were in that area. So dogs in Australia evolved from wolves in Australia, dogs in Africa evolved from wolves in Africa, and so on. But the wolves in different parts of the world are different species, right? And dogs are genetically really similar to wolves, so how can any dog in the world breed with any other dog?
    (2 votes)
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    • boggle blue style avatar for user Davin V Jones
      All domestic dogs evolved from the grey wolf species. Australian dogs were brought to Australia by humans. African dogs were brought to Africa by humans. Where the initial evolution from wolf to dog occurred is still unresolved, but it didn't happen multiple times in multiple locations.
      (2 votes)
  • blobby green style avatar for user kwangumwate
    So what are the major differences between speciation in plants and speciation that takes place in animals?
    (2 votes)
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  • blobby green style avatar for user umeohakamdy
    If small fishes maybe cichlids, live in the same lake but at different depths which cues differential population, is it sympatric or allopatric speciation?
    (2 votes)
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