Speciation and ecology revisited: phylogenetic niche conservatism and the origin of species

An argument that ecology can play an additional role in the origin of species that is different from the one described in literature on ecology and speciation is presented. The different ways in which phylogenetic niche conservatism, rather than ecological divergence, contributes to the formation of geographically isolated lineages, the necessary first step of the most common mode of speciation is described.