BIO 1130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Zebroid, Asiatic Lion, Ring Species

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Biology
• Course: BIO 1130
• Professor: Jon Houseman

Document Summary

*species are normally defined using a combination of the first three concepts. Species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups: proposed by ernst mayer. Problems: can"t prove reproductive isolation with fossils they"re dead, so you can"t observe their mating habits, requires sexual reproduction doesn"t apply to bacteria and prokaryotes. Species are defined by their unique ecological niche. Based on morphology/appearance: all individuals of a species share measurable traits that distinguish them from individuals of another species. Longest standing method concept goes all the way back to linnaeus. Problem: morphology can be a poor indicator (ex. With bacteria: can confuse subspecies with being their own unique species, ex. Dogs and wolves used to be thought of as two different species. We now know that dogs can mate with wolves, which contradicts the biological species concept, so dogs are now a subspecies of wolves. A group of organisms bound by a unique ancestry.