Lake Victoria in East Africa is home to as many as 600 species of cichlid fish. Genetic data indicates that these fish originated from a small number of fish that colonized the lake from other lakes and rivers within the last 100,000 years. The females of two closely related species of these fish choose their mates by the color of the males. In one species, the back of the male is bright blue and in the other the back of the male is red. What process is the likely reason that these two species of fish evolved in this lake? Sympatric speciation by sexual selection Allopatric speciation by sexual selection Directional selection by habitat differentiation Stabilizing selection by natural selection
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The cichlid is a colorful fish found in freshwater lakes. There are over a thousand species of the cichlid fish today. The level of diversity in an ecosystem can be determined by the frequency of speciation and extinction. Describe speciation and identify two possible prezygotic barriers of the cichlid fish that contribute to speciation. If the cichlid fish became extinct, explain how available niches after extinction can lead to increased diversity.
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In a population of fish that live in Lake Victoria, some individuals prefer the warmer, shallower water while others prefer the deeper, cooler water. Although deep and shallow water fish are not separated by any physical barrier and can access one another, females usually only mate with males that spend most of their time in the same depths of water as them. Over thousands of years, the shallow water fish become so different from the deep water fish that they can no longer recognize one another as the same species, and can thus no longer mate. What process of speciation has occurred? Sympatric speciation via habitat differentiation did not occur. Sympatric speciation via post-zygotic barrier did not occur. Sympatric speciation via autopolyploidy did not occur. Allopatric speciation did not occur.
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Explain how the murky waters of Lake Victoria may be contributing to the decline in cichlid species. How might these polluted waters affect the formation of new species?
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