Question

Some species of Anopheles mosquito live in brackish water, some in running fresh water, and others in stagnant water. What type of reproductive barrier is most obviously separating these different species?

Options

• Ecological isolation

• Temporal isolation

• Behavioural isolation

• Postzygotic barriers

Answer 1

Ecological isolation

Explanation:

Ecological isolation is a prezygotic reproductive barrier where species occupy different habitats or ecological niches and therefore do not encounter each other for mating. In this case, the different species of Anopheles mosquitoes living in different types of water habitats are separated by their ecological preferences, preventing interbreeding even if their ranges overlap geographically. This limits gene flow between them and maintains species boundaries.