Given the work done on character displacement (bill or beak size) of Darwin’s Fi

Question

Given the work done on character displacement (bill or beak size) of Darwin’s Finches in the Galapagos Islands, explain how you would test for the same pattern in sympatric Felid species in South America. Here, up to four species of wild cats can be found in the same piece of forest, and are from largest to smallest: jaguar, puma, ocelot and jaguarundi. Design a natural experiment in which you test for the strength of interspecific competition. Explain what you would expect to find in different assemblages or degrees of sympatry. For example, what would you expect to see different about the Jaguar in different sympatric vs. allopatric scenarios?

Explanation / Answer

Given the work done on character displacement (bill or beak size) of Darwin’s Finches in the Galapagos Islands, explain how you would test for the same pattern in sympatric Felid species in South America.

Felid species in south America: jaguar, puma, ocelot and jaguarundi

Speciation: The biological populations which are reproductively isolated evolve to become distinct species. And that is called as speciation. It is the evolutionary process.There are four geographic modes of speciation in nature. They are allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric. and this division is based on the extent to which speciating populations are isolated from one another.

Table showing Steps of how new species are formed:

In this way new distinct species after equilibration of new ranges will be formed in both modes.

Design a natural experiment in which you test for the strength of interspecific competition.

What is Interspecific competition, It is a form of competition in which the individuals of different species compete for the same resource (e.g. food or living space) in an ecosystem .

Felid species in south America: jaguar, puma, ocelot and jaguarundi

The Lotka-Volterra model can be used to predict the interspecific competition of different species for the same resources. This experiment shows the effect due to the presence of one species will have on the population growth of the other species and on each other due to the interspecific competition.

The equation for the population growth of species 1 is: dN1/ dt+ r1N1 (k1-N1- alpha12 N2/ K1)

And for species 2, it is: dN2/ dt+ r2N2 (k2-N2- alpha21 N1/ K2)

where:

N1 and N2 = population sizes of species 1 and 2,

r1 and r2 = intrinsic rates of increase for these species,

K1 and K2 = carrying capacities of the habitat for each species,

alpha12 and alpha21 =effects of one species on the population growth of the other.

Specifically, alpha12 = effect of species 2 on the growth of species 1,

and alpha21= effect of species 1 on the growth of species 2.

Type of contact due to inter specific competition

The superior competitor is less affected or the disadvantages may flow both ways between species,

we can consider species 1 as jaguar and Species 2 as Jaguaraundi

This model describes the outcome of competition between two species over ecological time.

Because one species can competitively exclude another species , the competitively-inferior species may increase the range of food types that it eats in order to survive. So, Here in South America we can the existence of all these species whichare of sympatric pattern of speication.

Explain what you would expect to find in different assemblages or degrees of sympatry.

To find out the degree of sympatry we have to go through the reproductive relatedness among those species.

Jaguar and Jaguarundi are more related and sympatric whereas, puma, ocelot are more related and sympatric

Allopatric Sympatric Original population Original population Intitial step of speciaiton is through Barrier formation Genetic polymorphism Evolution of reproductive isolation is due to In isolation within the population New species finally New distinct species after equilibration of new ranges New distinct species after equilibration of new ranges

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