Sympatric speciation in Galerucella

Abstract

For decades, the existence and importance of sympatric speciation has remained a controversial issue in speciation research. Very strong opinions exist according to which sympatric speciation could, at most, be a rarely occurring exception, restricted to special types of situations, such as shifts in host preference by herbivorous insects (e.g., Mayr 1982, 1988; Futuyma & Peterson 1985).