How does evolution produce new species?

Evolution occurs in multiple stages. The initial stage involves genetic alteration in an individual, which can occur through various means such as mutation, errors in genome replication, radiation, or a mutated gene inherited from a parent.

The second stage involves implementing the modification in the environment; if it is advantageous, the organism has a higher chance of surviving and procreating with offspring that carry that gene.

These advantageous (or occasionally neutral) mutations accumulate over time when species physically separate for a variety of reasons (to use geology as an example, let's say the continent split and the population split with it). After a considerable amount of time, the two populations are no longer able to produce viable offspring, at which point we say speciation has occurred and the two populations are now distinct species.

For a real-world example, consider horses and donkeys. Although they belong to different species, they can still have children (mules) but the mule is not viable, meaning it cannot procreate. Although their populations once shared, horses and donkeys are now distinct due to population splits.

I hope that's useful.

Evolution produces new species through a process called speciation, which occurs when populations of the same species become reproductively isolated from each other, leading to the accumulation of genetic differences over time. This isolation can occur through various mechanisms such as geographical barriers, ecological differences, or behavioral differences. Over successive generations, these genetic differences can accumulate to the point where individuals from the separate populations are no longer able to interbreed and produce viable offspring, resulting in the formation of distinct species.