Summary
A diverse group of theoretical and empirical studies are integrated into a composite model of sympatric speciation via habitat specialization. It is shown that disruptive selection on a continuous distribution of habitat preference can lead to the evolution of prezygotic reproductive isolation as a correlated character. The form of selection eliminates the major theoretical objections to the process of sympatric speciation. The principal difference between this model and the allopatric model of speciation is that the initial barrier to gene flow between subpopulations is produced by the evolution of gaps in the phenotypic distribution of spatial/temporal habitat use, rather than an extrinsic geographical barrier.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Antonovics, J. (1968) Evolution in closely adjacent plant populations. VI. Manifold effects of gene flow.Heredity 23, 507–24.
Balkau, B. and Feldman, M. W. (1973) Selection for migration modification.Genetics 74, 171–4.
Bush, G. L. (1969a) Sympatric host race formation and speciation in frugivorous flies in the genusRhagoletis.Evolution 23, 237–51.
Bush, G. L. (1969b) Mating behavior, host specificity, and the ecological significance of sibling species in frugivorous flies of the genusRhagoletis (Diptera, Tephritidae).Amer. Natur. 103, 669–72.
Bush, G. L. (1975) Modes of animal speciation.Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 6, 339–64.
Bush, G. L. and Howard, D. J. (1986) Allopatric and non-allopatric speciation; assumptions and evidence. InEvolutionary Process and Theory (S. Karlin and E. Nevo eds), pp. 411–38. Academic Press, New York.
Caisse, M. and Antonovics, J. (1978) Evolution in closely adjacent plant populations. IX. Evolution of reproductive isolation in clinal populations,Heredity 40, 371–84.
Colwell, R. K. (1986) Population structure and sexual selection for host fidelity in the speciation of hummingbird flower mites. InEvolutionary Process and Theory (S. Karlin and E. Nevo eds) pp. 475–95. Academic Press, New York.
Crosby, J. L. (1970) The evolution of genetic discontinuity: computer models of the selection of barriers to interbreeding between subspecies.Heredity 25, 253–97.
Crow, J. F. and Kimura M. (1970)Introduction to Population Genetics Theory. Harper and Row, New York.
Crow, J. F. and Felsenstein, J. (1968) The effect of assortive mating on the genetic composition of a population.Eugen. Quart. 15, 85–97.
Dickinson, H. and Antonovics, J. (1973) Theoretical considerations of symptric divergence.Amer. Natur. 107, 256–74.
Endler, J. A. (1977)Geographic Variation, Speciation, and Clines. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Felsenstein, J. (1981) Skepticism towardsSanta Rosalia, or why are there so few kinds of animals?Evolution 35, 124–38.
Falconer, D. S. (1981)Introduction to quantitative genetics. Longman Group, Essex.
Futuyma, D. J. and Mayer, G. C. (1980) Non-allopatric speciation in animals.Syst. Zool. 26, 254–71.
Haldane J. B. S. (1930) A mathematical theory of natural and artifical selection. Part VI. Isolation.Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 26, 220–30.
Halliburton, R. and Gall, G. A. E. (1981) Disruptive selection and assortative mating inTribolium castaneum.Evolution 35, 829–43.
Hedrick, P. W. (1983)Genetics of Populations. Science Books International, Portola Valley, California.
Howard, D. J. and Harrison, R. G. (1984) Habitat segregation in ground crickets: the role of interspecific competition and habitat selection.Ecology 65, 69–76.
Kilias, G., Alahiotis, S. N. and Pelecanos, M. (1980) A multifactor genetic investigation of speciation theory usingDrosophila melanogaster.Evolution 34, 730–7.
Maynard Smith, J. (1962) Disruptive selection, polymorphism, and sympatric speciation.Nature 195, 60–2.
Maynard Smith, J. (1966) Sympatric speciation.Amer. Natur. 100, 637–50.
Mayr, E. (1942).Systematics and the Origin of Species. Columia University Press, New York.
Mayr, E. (1947). Ecological factors in speciation.Evolution 1, 163–288.
Mayr, E. (1963).Animal Species and Evolution. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Moore, W. S. (1979) A single locus mass-action model of assortative mating, with comments on the process of speciation.Heredity 42, 173–86.
Moore, W. S. (1981) Assortative mating genes selected along a gradient.Heredity 46, 191–5.
Muller, H. J. (1942) Isolating mechanisms, evolution and temperature.Biol. Symp. 6, 71–125.
Nagylaki, T. (1977) Selection in one- and two locus systems.Lecture Notes in Biomathematics 15. springer-Verlag, New York.
Paterniani, E. (1969) Selection for reproductive isolation between two populations of maize,Zea mays L. Evolution 23, 534–47.
Pimentel, D. G., Smith, J. C. and Soans J. S. (1967) A population model of sympatric speciation.Amer. Natur. 101, 493–504.
Pimm, S. L. (1979) Sympatric speciation: a simulation model.Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 11, 131–9.
Raven, P. H. (1961) Interspecific hybridization as an evolutionary stimulus inOenothera.Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. 1973, 92–8.
Rice, W. R. (1984) Disruptive selection on habitat preference and the evolution of reproductive isolation: a simulation study.Evolution 38, 1251–60.
Rice, W. R. (1985) Disruptive selection on habitat preference and the evolution of reproductive isolation: an exploratory experiment.Evolution 39, 645–56.
Rosenzweig, M. L. (1978) Competitive speciation.Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 10, 275–89.
Salzman, A. G. (1985) Habitat selection in a clonal plant.Science 228, 603–4.
Schemske, D. W., Wilson, M. F., Melampy, M. N., Miller, L. J., Verner, L., Schemske, K. M. and Best, L. B. (1978) Flowering ecology of some spring woodlands herbs.Ecology 59, 351–66.
Slatkin, M. (1982) Pleiotropy and parapatric speciation.Evolution 36, 263–70.
Soans, A. B., Pimentel, D., Soans, J. S. (1974) Evolution of reproductive isolation in allopatric and sympatric populations.Amer. Natur. 108, 117–24.
Snead, J. S., and Alcock, J. (1985) Aggregation formation and assortative mating in two meloid beetles.Evolution 39, 1123–31.
Stratton, G. E. (1986) The inheritance of courtship behavior and its role as a reproductive isolating mechanism in two species ofSchizocosa wolf spiders (Araneae; Lycosidae).Evolution 40, 129–41.
Tauber, C. A. and Tauber, M. J. (1977a) Sympatric speciation based on allelic changes at three loci: evidence from natural populations in two habitats.Science 197, 1298–9.
Tauber, C. A. and Tauber, M. J. (1977b) A genetic model for sympatric speciation through habitat diversification and seasonal isolation.Nature 268, 702–5.
Templeton, A. R. (1981) Mechanisms of speciation — a population genetics approachAnn. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 12, 23–48.
Thiele, H.-U. (1977)Carabid beetles in their environments. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Thoday, J. M. and Gibson J. B. (1970) The probability of isolation by disruptive selection.Amer. Natur. 104, 219–30.
Thoday, J. M. and Gibson J. B. (1962) Isolation by disruptive selection.Nature 193, 1164–66.
Thorpe, W. H. (1945) The evolutionary significance of habitat selection.J. Anim. Ecol. 14, 67–70.
Udovic, D. (1980) Frequency dependent selection, disruptive selection, and the evolution of reproductive isolation.Amer. Natur. 116, 621–41.
White, M. J. D. (1978)Modes of Speciation. W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco.
Wilson, D. S. and Turelli, M. (1986) Stable underdominance and the evolutionary invasion of empty niches.Amer. Natur. 127, 835–50.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rice, W.R. Speciation via habitat specialization: the evolution of reproductive isolation as a correlated character. Evol Ecol 1, 301–314 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02071555
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02071555