Ecological isolation, Biology

Assignment Help:

Ecological isolation is based on the fact that population shows preference to one habitat over the other. This extensive forests become barriers to the dispersal of organims living in grasslands. The reverse that priaries being barriers to forest organisms is also true. The red tree mousephenocomys 1ongicaudu.s lives on fir needle trees and feeds on fir needle. It is understandable that for these mice not only priaries but the non-fir forests will also be a barrier for dispersal.

You may recall that in unit of this block we discussed extensively MacArthur's study of five species of warbler birds living in spruce trees. The five species of Dendroica are effectively isolated by ecological factors although they have a similar distribution. As a matter of fact, the ecological and food preference of the different species of warblers are very similar. Under such circumstances one would have expected a severe competition among them. But each species has carved a well defined niche and forages at a particular level in the trees. Differences in breeding dates and occupation of different habitats outside the breeding season are the contributing factors for the minimum competition and niche overlap among the species. There are other instances where potential mates keep away from each other because of their habitat preferences. In these cases there might even be a broad niche overlap and the individuals may exist in the same general area, but the distinctness of sub-species and species is maintained. Dice cited an example from United States where the two sub-species of mice Peromyscus maniculatus have overlapping niches and do not interbreed in nature, although there is interbreeding in the laboratory. Similarly another.study showed that the fresh water and salt water races of the water snake Natrix sipedon may come close together but may not interbreed because of their habitat preferences.


Related Discussions:- Ecological isolation

How to predict that a decrease in co2, Jennifer has the "stomach flu" that ...

Jennifer has the "stomach flu" that is going around campus and has been vomiting profusely for the past 24 hours. Not only has she been unable to keep down fluids or food but she h

Which kind of tissue are bones and cartilages made, Q. Of which kind of tis...

Q. Of which kind of tissue are bones and cartilages made? Cartilages and Bones tissues with great amount of intercellular material are formed of connective tissue. Q. Are t

How to produce a similar sickling effect, Which of the following amino acid...

Which of the following amino acids would you expect to produce a similar sickling effect if placed at position 6? Select all that apply. 1. Arginine 2. Leucine 3. Lysine

Respiration in fishes, RESPIR A TIO N IN FISHES - Respiratory org...

RESPIR A TIO N IN FISHES - Respiratory organs are gills. In elasmobranchi 5-7 pairs of gills present, spiracles present. In Teleostomai 4 pairs gills present, covered

Protozoa, locomotion in protozoa

locomotion in protozoa

Assume complete absorption, How many pints (473 ml) of Fat Tire amber ale c...

How many pints (473 ml) of Fat Tire amber ale can an 80 kg person drink in Arizona before reaching the blood alcohol limit? Fat Tire's ethanol concentration of 5.3% (v/v). Assume c

Explain database search, Database Search: Once an open reading frame or th...

Database Search: Once an open reading frame or the partial amino acid sequence has been pre-determined, the investigator compares sequence with others in the databases using a com

Explain the dietary fibre and colon cancer, Explain the Dietary fibre and c...

Explain the Dietary fibre and colon cancer? The relationship between colorectal cancer and dietary fibre remains complex. Although a cause-and-effect relationship between fibre

Major types of inheritances exceptions to mendel''s rules/, According to th...

According to the Mendel's law the phenotypical characteristics would be determined by pair of factors (alleles) that separate independently in gametes. What are the major types of

What is the usual biological function of connective tissues, Q. What is the...

Q. What is the usual biological function of the connective tissues? How is this function associated to the main features of its cells? The usual function of the connective tiss

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd