Ecology and speciation

Recent studies on diverse taxa suggest that natural selection caused by shi fts in ecology or invasions of novel habitats plays an important role in ad aptive divergence and speciation. Exciting new studies integrating approach es from both the field and the laboratory suggest that ecological shifts ca n result in extremely rapid rates of evolutionary divergence. Although expe rimental approaches that link rapid ecological divergence to reproductive i solation and speciation are in their infancy, recent research indicates tho se approaches that will be most useful.