AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The finding that sympatric speciation accounts for the origin of at least one new species in the Midas cichlids, and probably also for the emergence of new species in West African crater lakes, again underscores the special propensity of cichlids for sympatric speciation.

Detailed explanation-2: -All these differences in diet and niche have led to the hypothesis that there are many cichlid species because they have adapted to different food sources and habitats. If fish only mate with other fish that feed on the same food or live in the same habitat, then these groups can eventually become separate species.

Detailed explanation-3: -The rapid evolution of African cichlid fish driven by strong divergent selection is revealed in a gene that influences both ecological adaptation and mate choice, in keeping with ecological by-product speciation.

Detailed explanation-4: -What is thought to be the two factors demonstrating sympatric speciation in the cichlids of Lake Victoria, in East Africa? They filled in the environmental niches/sexual selection. Compare gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. Gradualism is when two species gradually drift apart into two species.