What is it called when a physical barrier divides a population?

What is it called when a physical barrier divides a population?

• A. Geographic Isolation
• B. Reproductive Isolation
• C. Adaptive Radiation
• D. Speciation

Answer: (A)

Geographic isolation refers to a situation where a physical barrier, such as mountains, rivers, or distance, separates a population of organisms. This separation can prevent individuals from two different groups from meeting and interbreeding. As a result, the isolated populations may undergo different evolutionary paths due to varying selective pressures and mutations in their respective environments. Over time, this can lead to differences that contribute to the process of speciation, where new species arise from an ancestral species. This concept is crucial in understanding how physical barriers can lead to the divergence of populations and the formation of new species. In contrast, reproductive isolation involves mechanisms that prevent different species from mating successfully even if they are living in the same area, while adaptive radiation pertains to the rapid evolution of diversely adapted species from a common ancestor, and speciation is the overall process of forming new species, which can occur as a result of geographic isolation but is not limited to it.

Geographic isolation refers to a situation where a physical barrier, such as mountains, rivers, or distance, separates a population of organisms. This separation can prevent individuals from two different groups from meeting and interbreeding. As a result, the isolated populations may undergo different evolutionary paths due to varying selective pressures and mutations in their respective environments. Over time, this can lead to differences that contribute to the process of speciation, where new species arise from an ancestral species. This concept is crucial in understanding how physical barriers can lead to the divergence of populations and the formation of new species. In contrast, reproductive isolation involves mechanisms that prevent different species from mating successfully even if they are living in the same area, while adaptive radiation pertains to the rapid evolution of diversely adapted species from a common ancestor, and speciation is the overall process of forming new species, which can occur as a result of geographic isolation but is not limited to it.