reproductive isolation
noun
: the inability of a species to breed successfully with related species due to geographical, behavioral, physiological, or genetic barriers or differences
Examples of reproductive isolation in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Researchers think that such picky mate choices may initiate reproductive isolation, which could eventually lead to the emergence of a new species.
—
Maja Mielke, JSTOR Daily, 20 Feb. 2025
But if individuals from different species do pair up, reproductive isolation is still happening if their offspring aren’t likely to survive, thrive and produce offspring of their own.
—Rebecca Heisman, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
As colonialism spread, many Coast Salish traditions—including strict reproductive isolation for the dogs—were eradicated, says Logan Kistler, an anthropologist at the National Museum of Natural History who was part of the project.
—Alicia Ault, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2024
Agar worries that the divisions between the haves and have-nots would eventually be locked in by reproductive isolation.
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 27 May 2014
For many years, researchers hypothesized that the initial step had been reproductive isolation: that the early ancestors of the inquilines were normal ants that were reproductively isolated from their kin long enough to diverge genetically from them and become a new species.
—Viviane Callier, Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2023
But, in time, Wolf had come to believe the opposite: the nature of species could not be understood until the process of speciation—the ebb and flow of genetic differences between populations, and the evolution of reproductive isolation—had been clarified.
—Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021
The genomes of common ravens in western North America record evidence of a speciation reversal: two ancient populations diverged for one to two million years—long enough, normally, for most birds to evolve reproductive isolation—and then fused back together.
—Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021
There would be ones that have just begun to split, showing reproductive isolation, and those that might still look like one species but haven't interbred for thousands of years.
—Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2011
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Maja Mielke, JSTOR Daily, 20 Feb. 2025
But if individuals from different species do pair up, reproductive isolation is still happening if their offspring aren’t likely to survive, thrive and produce offspring of their own.
—Rebecca Heisman, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
As colonialism spread, many Coast Salish traditions—including strict reproductive isolation for the dogs—were eradicated, says Logan Kistler, an anthropologist at the National Museum of Natural History who was part of the project.
—Alicia Ault, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Jan. 2024
Agar worries that the divisions between the haves and have-nots would eventually be locked in by reproductive isolation.
—Eliza Strickland, IEEE Spectrum, 27 May 2014
For many years, researchers hypothesized that the initial step had been reproductive isolation: that the early ancestors of the inquilines were normal ants that were reproductively isolated from their kin long enough to diverge genetically from them and become a new species.
—Viviane Callier, Quanta Magazine, 8 May 2023
But, in time, Wolf had come to believe the opposite: the nature of species could not be understood until the process of speciation—the ebb and flow of genetic differences between populations, and the evolution of reproductive isolation—had been clarified.
—Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021
The genomes of common ravens in western North America record evidence of a speciation reversal: two ancient populations diverged for one to two million years—long enough, normally, for most birds to evolve reproductive isolation—and then fused back together.
—Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021
There would be ones that have just begun to split, showing reproductive isolation, and those that might still look like one species but haven't interbred for thousands of years.
—Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2011
Cite this Entry
“Reproductive isolation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reproductive%20isolation. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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