Laboratory experiments of speciation

Laboratory experiments of speciation are controlled studies that test how new species form, covering all four recognized modes of speciation, allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric, along with related processes such as hybridization, reinforcement, and founder effects. Most of this work has used model organisms, especially fruit flies of the genus Drosophila, though more recent studies have extended to yeasts, fungi, and even viruses. The experiments let researchers test predictions about how reproductive isolation develops between populations under conditions that would take far longer to observe in the wild.