What environmental pressures drive the diversification seen between mainland and Tasmanian Red-Necked Wallaby populations?
Answer
Temperature and the cooler environment of the island state
The existence of distinct subspecies within the Red-Necked Wallaby, such as the larger Tasmanian subspecies, serves as an observable example of ongoing evolutionary processes driven by local environmental selection pressures. The Tasmanian population has adapted specifically to the cooler temperatures characteristic of that island environment. These regional variations demonstrate how factors like climate, vegetation density, and local predation sculpt populations following their initial evolutionary divergence from ancestral forms, illustrating adaptive radiation in a microcosm.
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