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Allopatric Speciation

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

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Etymology

From Greek allo meaning “other,” and patric meaning “home.”

Synonyms

Geographic speciation

Definition

Speciation caused by geographical isolation.

Speciation is the evolutionary process from which new species originate. There are three main recognized modes of speciation: allopatric, peripatric, and sympatric. Here, we will focus on allopatric speciation.

Allopatric speciation occurs when there is geographic isolation and consequently, no gene flowbetween separated populations, allowing these newly isolated populations to evolve separately. This is usually caused by some geographical barrier splitting the population into two (or more) subpopulations. These geographic barriers can vary and include mountains, rivers, islands, and others (see examples below). A few individuals may cross this barrier in some cases, but the gene flow remains reduced, maintaining the speciation process. Other events that affect populations of a species, such as local diseases, can also isolate...

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References

  • Amor, M. D., Norman, M. D., Cameron, H. E., & Strugnell, J. M. (2014). Allopatric speciation within a cryptic species complex of Australasian octopuses. PLoS One, 9(6), e98982.

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  • de-Queiroz, K. (2007). Species concepts and species delimitation. Systematic Biology, 56(6), 879–886.

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  • Dobzhansky, T. G. (1951). Genetics and the origin of species (Vol. 11, 3rd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.

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  • Mayr, E. (2001). What evolution is. New York: Basic Books.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Fauna e Unidades de Conservação, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

    Nathalie Citeli

  2. Laboratório de Anatomia Comparada de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

    Nathalie Citeli & Julia Klaczko

  3. Laboratório de Comportamento Animal, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

    Mariana de-Carvalho

  4. Laboratório de Anfíbios e Répteis, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Andressa M. Bezerra

Authors
  1. Nathalie Citeli
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  2. Mariana de-Carvalho
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  3. Andressa M. Bezerra
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  4. Julia Klaczko
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. York University, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Suzanne MacDonald

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© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

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Citeli, N., de-Carvalho, M., Bezerra, A.M., Klaczko, J. (2021). Allopatric Speciation. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_371-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_371-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6

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