Question

A population of butterfly called the Concord is found deep in the jungles of Central America. After 1000 years, within this same community, a new species of butterfly named the Rosaria has arisen!

A) Considering that this occurred in the same community, how would you best refer to this type of speciation?

B) The Concord is a species which produces a chemical in its wings that is toxic to certain species of birds. Interestingly, it is observed that the same birds that avoid the Concord also avoid eating the Rosaria butterflies, even though they do not produce this toxic chemical. From a community ecology, what specific term would you use to best describe this scenario? Explain briefly.

C) The Rosaria also seems to have evolved another wonderful strategy to avoid these birds! As their name suggests the Rosaria’s entire body has a bright pink-red color. It seems to inhabit mainly these same colored flowers in order to gain nectar. What term would you use to describe this type of strategy being used to avoid predators?

D) Scientists have identified that both the Rosaria and Concord are indeed different species as they cannot make viable offspring. Name and describe 3 possible reasons which you may want to investigate as to why they do not have the ability to reproduce between species.

Answer 1

A) The answer here should be sympatric speciation. In sympatric speciation, members of the community live in close approximation with each other without any physical boundaries that can prevent mating between members. A completely new species based on some different food sources or some characteristics may develop spontaneously. The rationale behind this is some individuals of the community become dependant on particular aspects of the environment such as food or shelter but other members will not depend upon it.

B) Batesian mimicry would be the apt term to describe the scenario. Rosaria butterflies that are palatable and with nontoxic wings must have visual characteristics similar to Concord species that have toxic wings. So, birds cannot distinguish between the two species and thus even the palatable species is saved.  

C) The correct term here should be camouflage. Camouflage describes something with color, texture, or pattern that helps the organism to blend into its surroundings and thus deceive the predator. Here, Rosaria's pink color helps it to camouflage with the same color flower thus avoiding predators.

D) We can site the following reasons that explain why they cannot interbreed:

1. The two species might prefer different habitats and thus may not encounter each other. The specific term for this would be habitat isolation.
2. The two species must be reproducing at different times of the day/year and thus do not meet when seeking mates (temporal isolation).
3. The two species might have different courtship behaviors and may find each other "unattractive" (behavioral isolation).
4. Even if they meet up for mating, the gametes produced by them can't combine in fertilization (gametic isolation).

You can choose any three.