sympatric
Americanadjective
adjective
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Occupying the same or overlapping geographic areas without interbreeding. Although they share the same geographic range, sympatric populations of related organisms become isolated from each other reproductively. This can happen by the development of subpopulations that become dependent on distinct food sources or that evolve distinct seasonal mating behavior. Flowering plants frequently become reproductively isolated through the development of polyploid hybrids (hybrids with three or more sets of chromosomes) that cannot backcross with either parent.
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◆ The development of new species as a result of the reproductive isolation of populations that share the same geographic range is called sympatric speciation.
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Compare allopatric
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sympatric
1900–05; sym- + Greek pátr ( ā ) fatherland ( patr-, stem of patḗr father + -ā feminine noun suffix) + -ic
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Vocabulary lists containing sympatric
Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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Evolutionary Biology - High School
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Animals (Zoology) - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If this group of fish continued to remain separate from the first population, eventually sympatric speciation might occur as more genetic differences accumulated between them.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Exactly what this grand, evolving mess means for the distribution and health of hornbill populations, and for sympatric plants and animals, is neither simple nor clear.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 22, 2014
Figure 11.19 Cichlid fish from Lake Apoyeque, Nicaragua, show evidence of sympatric speciation.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
One leads to allopatric speciation, whereas the other leads to sympatric speciation.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 25, 2013
Almost without exception the range of typical Sorex vagrans obscurus is sympatric with that of Sorex cinereus, usually the subspecies S. c. cinereus.
From Speciation of the Wandering Shrew by James S. Findley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
