Nonecological speciation describes speciation that is not driven by divergent natural selection, distinguishing it from ecological speciation, which specifically involves that mechanism. Because there are many ways besides divergent natural selection for populations to become genetically differentiated and reproductively isolated, nonecological speciation covers a range of processes. Many instances are thought to be allopatric, especially among poor dispersers, though sympatric nonecological speciation is also possible, particularly when accompanied by a sudden loss of reproductive compatibility, as happens with polyploidization. Other proposed mechanisms include mutation-order speciation and changes in shell chirality among gastropods.
Facts
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1. Nonecological speciation (Wikipedia)
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When speciation is not driven by (or strongly correlated with) divergent natural selection, it can be said to be nonecological, to distinguish it from the typical definition of ecological speciation: "It is useful to consider ecological speciation as its own form of species formation because it focuses on an explicit mechanism of speciation: namely divergent natural selection.
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