A species of flies living in the same geographic region has one phenotype/subpopulation with a preference for cherries and another phenotype/ subpopulation with a preference for walnuts.They are partially reproductively isolated because the insects emerge from their pupae at different times of the year.This species appears to be on its way toward
A) allopatric speciation.
B) sympatric speciation.
C) an adaptive radiation.
D) autopolyploidy.
E) allopolyploidy.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The presence of two different subpopulations with distinct preferences for different food sources indicates that there is genetic differentiation occurring within the population. The fact that they are only partially reproductively isolated due to temporal isolation (emerging at different times of the year) also suggests that they may be on the path towards sympatric speciation, where the two subpopulations could eventually become reproductively isolated even in the same location. Allopatric speciation would require some kind of physical barrier preventing gene flow between the two subpopulations, which is not present in this scenario. Adaptive radiation refers to the rapid diversification of a single ancestral lineage into many new species to fill ecological niches, which is not apparent from the information given. Autopolyploidy and allopolyploidy refer to distinct mechanisms of chromosome duplication leading to instant speciation, which is not described here.

A Species of Flies Living in the Same Geographic Region