10.3  Gene Pools and Speciation

big ninja


Essential Idea:

Gene pools change over time

     
Understandings:

  • A gene pool consists of all the genes and their different alleles, present in an interbreeding population
  • Evolution requires that allele frequencies change with time in populations
  • Reproductive isolation of populations can be temporal, behavioural or geographic
  • Speciation due to divergence of isolated populations can be gradual
  • Speciation can occur abruptly


Applications:

  • Identifying examples of directional, stabilising and disruptive selection
  • Speciation in the genus Allium by polyploidy


Skills:

  • Comparison of allele frequencies of geographically isolated populations