Which factor can facilitate sympatric speciation in plants more readily than in animals?
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Correct answer: Polyploidy (genome duplication)
Polyploidy — duplication of the entire chromosome set — can instantly create reproductive isolation within a population, a mechanism particularly common in plants and conducive to sympatric speciation.
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More Evolution and speciation questions
- What is adaptive radiation?
- Which phenomenon can lead to loss of genetic variation and increase the probability of fixation of deleterious alleles in small populations?
- Which outcome is LEAST likely if two populations remain in contact and continue exchanging migrants (gene flow)?
- Which process introduces new heritable variation into a population that can be acted upon by evolutionary forces?
- How can sexual selection contribute to speciation within a population?
- Which pattern of evolution describes the evolution of similar traits independently in unrelated lineages due to similar selective pressures?