The following questions refer to this hypothetical situation:
A female fly, full of fertilized eggs, is swept by high winds to an island far out to sea. She is the first fly to arrive on this island, and the only fly to arrive in this way. Thousands of years later, her numerous offspring occupy the island, but none of them resembles her. There are, instead, several species each of which eats only a certain type of food. None of the species can fly, for their flight wings are absent, and their balancing organs (i.e., halteres) are now used in courtship displays. The male members of each species bear modified halteres that are unique in appearance to their species. Females bear vestigial halteres. The ranges of all of the daughter species overlap.
-If the foods preferred by each species are found on different parts of the island, and if the flies mate and lay eggs on their food sources, regardless of the location of the food sources, then the speciation events involving these fly species may have been driven, at least in part, by which of the following?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Habitat differentiation may have driven the speciation events in this scenario, as the different food sources on different parts of the island led to the flies mating and laying eggs in different locations. Over time, this could have resulted in genetic differences accumulating and eventually leading to the emergence of multiple daughter species. Autopolyploidy and allopolyploidy involve changes in chromosome number and are unlikely to be relevant to this scenario. Species selection is a concept that is still debated in evolutionary biology and is not a widely accepted explanation for speciation events. Genetic drift can play a role in speciation, but it is unlikely to be the primary driver in this scenario, as the emergence of multiple species with distinct ecological niches suggests adaptation to different environments through natural selection.

The Following Questions Refer to This Hypothetical Situation