3
Use the following information to answer the question(s) below.
About 3 million years ago, the Isthmus of Panama (a narrow strip of land connecting North and
South America) formed, dividing marine organisms into Pacific and Caribbean populations.
Researchers have examined species of snapping shrimp on both sides of the isthmus. Based on
the morphological species concept, there appeared to be seven pairs of species, with one species
of each pair in the Pacific and the other in the Caribbean. The different species pairs live at
somewhat different depths in the ocean. Using mitochondrial DNA sequences, the researchers
estimated phylogenies and found that each of these species pairs, separated by the isthmus, were
indeed each other’s closest relatives. The researchers investigated mating in the lab and found
that many species pairs were not very interested in courting with each other, and any that did
mate almost never produced fertile offspring. (N. Knowlton, L. A. Weigt, L. A. Solorzano, D. K.
Mills, and E. Bermingham. 1993. Divergence in proteins, mitochondrial DNA, and reproductive
incompatibility across the Isthmus of Panama. Science 260:1629-32.)
6) Refer to the paragraph about the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. The sister populations
on opposite sides of the isthmus are true species under which species concept?
A) the morphological species concept
B) the biological species concept
C) the phylogenetic species concept
D) the morpholoogical species, biological species, and phylogenetic species concepts
7) The common edible frog of Europe is a hybrid between two species, Rana lessonae and Rana
ridibunda. The hybrids were first described in 1758 and have a wide distribution, from France
across central Europe to Russia. Both male and female hybrids exist, but when they mate among
themselves, they are rarely successful in producing offspring. What can you infer from this
information?
A) Postzygotic isolation exists between the two frog species.
B) Prezygotic isolation exists between the two frog species.
C) These two species are likely in the process of fusing back into one species.
D) The hybrids form a separate species under the biological species concept.
8) The approach to estimating phylogenetic trees is most like the approach of which species
concept?
A) morphological species concept
B) biological species concept
C) phylogenetic species concept
9) Macroevolution is _____.