There is an island in the middle of a large river that houses a large population of ants.Damming of the river causes the island to flood and only the highest points of the island are now above water.The ants cannot swim,so are now in multiple isolated populations.Which of the following best describes this event?
A)isolation by dispersal
B)isolation by vicariance
C)a form of sympatric speciation
D)only a rare development of polyploidy could lead to speciation in this case.
E)speciation will not occur in this case because of gene flow

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The event can be best described as isolation by vicariance because the damming of the river caused the physical separation of the ant populations on the island, leading to their isolation from each other. Isolation by dispersal would occur if some of the ants moved to a different location, while sympatric speciation, polyploidy, and gene flow are not relevant in this scenario.

There Is an Island in the Middle of a Large