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Allopatric speciation (from Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos) 'other' and πατρίς (patrís) 'fatherland') – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model [1]: 86 – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from each other to an extent that prevents or interferes with gene flow.
Allopatric populations isolated from one another by geographical factors (e.g., mountain ranges or bodies of water) may experience genetic—and, ultimately, phenotypic—changes in response to their varying environments. These may drive allopatric speciation, which is arguably the dominant mode of speciation. [citation needed]
A simplification of an allopatric speciation experiment where two lines of fruit flies are raised on maltose and starch media. 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.
There are four geographic modes of speciation in nature, based on the extent to which speciating populations are isolated from one another: allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric. Whether genetic drift is a minor or major contributor to speciation is the subject of much ongoing discussion.
Current molecular studies in evolution and speciation indicate that although allopatric speciation is the norm, there are numerous cases of sympatric speciation in groups with greater mobility, such as birds. The precise mechanisms of sympatric speciation, however, are usually a form of microallopatry enabled by variations in niche occupancy ...
Reproductive isolation can be caused by allopatric speciation. A population of Drosophila was divided into sub populations selected to adapt to different food types. After some generations the two sub populations were mixed again. Subsequent matings occurred between individuals belonging to the same adapted group. [84]
Allopatric populations of Gastrophryne olivacea and G. carolinensis have recently come into secondary contact due to forest clearing. [9] The calls that the males make to attract females differ significantly in frequency and duration in the area where the two species overlap, despite them having similar calls where they do not.
Speciation represented as a continuum of gene flow where equals the rate of gene exchange. The three primary geographic modes of speciation (allopatric, parapatric, and sympatric) can exist within this continuum, as well as other non-geographic modes.