Competition drives speciation from "summary" of Evolution by Mark Ridley
Competition between species can lead to new species forming over time. This process of adaptation and differentiation can result in a wide variety of species, each suited to the specific environment they inhabit.- Competition between species over environmental resources can lead to new species emerging over time. This process, called speciation, involves a breakdown in the shared pool of genetic material that would originally allow them to breed with each other.
- The impact of competition on population divergence might be seen on local or global scales. Comparisons of historically coexisting populations of animals, plants and microbes can show how competition is actively pushing species apart.
- Species often compete against each other and this pressure drives them to evolve into different forms as they diversify away from their competitors. Thus, natural selection has a powerful role in shaping species by making them more competitive and allowing them to inhabit different parts of their environment.
