Jerry Allen Coyne is an American biologist and skeptic known for his work on speciation and his commentary on intelligent design. A professor emeritus at the University of Chicago in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, he has published numerous papers on the theory of evolution. His concentration is speciation and ecological and evolutionary genetics, particularly as they involve the fruit fly, Drosophila. In 2023 he became a fellow with the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Coyne in 2013
Coyne (right) and Richard Dawkins at George Washington University on May 24, 2017
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within lineages. Charles Darwin was the first to describe the role of natural selection in speciation in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. He also identified sexual selection as a likely mechanism, but found it problematic.
African pygmy kingfisher, showing coloration shared by all adults of that species to a high degree of fidelity.
Cichlids such as Haplochromis nyererei diversified by sympatric speciation in the Rift Valley lakes.
Rhagoletis pomonella, the hawthorn fly, appears to be in the process of sympatric speciation.
Gaur (Indian bison) can interbreed with domestic cattle.
