Editing Speciation (section)

== <span style="color: #FFFFFF;">Understanding</span> ==
Speciation is understood through the '''Barriers to Breeding'''.

'''1. The Geography of Splitting (Allopatric)''':
This is the most common type.
* A group of beetles lives in a forest.
* A river changes course and splits the forest in two.
* The beetles on the East side evolve to be green (camouflage).
* The beetles on the West side evolve to be brown.
* 10,000 years later, the river dries up. The beetles meet—but they have changed so much they no longer recognize each other as mates. '''One species has become two.'''

'''2. The Logic of Isolation''':
Why don't they breed?
* '''Temporal''': One group mates in the Spring, the other in the Fall.
* '''Behavioral''': One group likes a specific "Dance," the other doesn't.
* '''Mechanical''': The "Parts" no longer fit together.

'''3. The Rate of Change''':
* '''Gradualism''': Small changes add up (Think of a ramp).
* '''Punctuated Equilibrium''': Long periods of "No Change" followed by a "Sudden Jump" (Think of a staircase). This often happens when the environment changes rapidly (like an Ice Age).

'''The Biological Species Concept''': This is the most popular definition—if two things can't have "fertile" babies, they are different species. A Lion and a Tiger can have a "Liger," but the Liger is sterile. Therefore, Lions and Tigers are different species.
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