New Species Formation Predicted: Darwin's Theory Revisited

While NASA uses measurements from planetary orbits and Kepler's Law to predict the formation or discovery of new stars and planets, biologists can analyze extrinsic factors and intrinsic traits that can lead to the evolution and establishment of a new species.

A team of researchers led by Eawag and the University of Bern demonstrate that for cichlids (chosen primarily because of high diversification in this species) from 46 African lakes the probability of diversification, or "adaptive radiation", depends on a combination of environmental factors and sexual selection.

The study suggests that "diversification is more likely to occur in deep lakes and in areas with relatively high solar radiation. By contrast, lake size has practically no influence on the likelihood of speciation -- which is surprising, as speciation in terrestrial species is known to depend in part on the available habitat area."

Sexual selection was proven to be the biggest factor in species-specific traits, "as indicated by the [chichlids] association between sexual dichromatism (distinctive coloration of males and females) and diversification," according to a report by Eawag.

Researchers purport that these findings make it possible to predict adverse impacts of human activities on biodiversity: "for example, if the habitable depth of lakes is altered as a result of pollution or the lowering of water levels rates of species formation will decline and existing species diversity is expected to collapse."

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change" -Charles Darwin

The study and findings are published in the latest issue of Nature magazine.