BI111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Conservation Biology, Reproductive Isolation, Gene Flow
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Species
Carl Linnaeus AKA the father of modern taxonomy and binary nomenclature: genus and species
(nested hierarchy)
Life->domain->kingdom->phylum->class->order->family->genus->species
Species is a group of organisms that is biologically "distinct" from others and evolving along a
lineage
But HOW is it distinct? WHY is it a group? And WHAT makes an organism an "other"?
This is a long standing question based on species concept
Species Concept
A set of conditions that are necessary and sufficient to identify a group of individuals as a
species
Species concepts do not only define what a species is, but in doing so, they also define what
speciation is.
Important to many biologists working in the fields of:
Taxonomy
Evolutionary biology
Ecologial &
Behavioural studies
Conservation biology
There is much debate about how many different species of giraffes there are. It can range from 1 to 11.
this goes to show how many difficult questions there are.
Morphological Species Concept
Organisms are classified in the same species if they appear identical by morphological
(anatomical) criteria
Pros
Cons
A practical approach that is widely
understood by both scientists and non-
scientists
Not useful in situations were "species" exhibit
substantial phenotypic polymorphisms (or belong to
"rings")
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com