If most evolutionary change occurs during and immediately after speciation, could speciation rates and extinction rates explain major patterns in macroevolution? In turn, what factors may influence speciation and extinction rates (are they all biological, or can geological / meteorological / astronomical factors also play a role)? Solution In the course of evolution, some mutations keep on occurring with every replicative step. These mutations lead to differences in alleles, which further result in different genotypes. Some genotypes have higher fitness while others have lower fitness. Natural selection selects the phenotypes which have higher fitness, and slowly discards the others during the course of evolution. So, extinction rate depends on fitness and natural selection. As new phenotypes are selected, they result in formation of new species; the process is known as speciation. Speciation further results in evolution. Higher the speciation rate, higher will be the rate of evolution. So, you can say that most evolutionary changes occur during and after speciation. Overall the biological factors affecting speciation and extinction rates are: It is important to note that that apart from the above two factors, geological/astronomical factors also affect speciation, extinction and evolution. Changes in the earth since times immemorial ultimately resulted in changes like:.