New Definition of 'Species' Could Aid Species Identification

PhysOrg.com ^ | 23 August 2006 | Staff

[PatrickHenry]

She crossed her legs. Then crossed them in the other direction. Nice ankles. Nice knees too. But I'm a professional; my interests were above that. "My parents didn't leave me many mutations, Mr. Spade. I hope you can help me."

[Coyoteman]

===> Placemarker <===

It was a dark and story might placemarker.

[js1138]

Above the knees? My high school English teacher called it crossing the equator.

[stands2reason]

One of the main reasons I accept evolution and an old earth.

There is just no way all the extinct species lived at the same time 5000 years ago. It wouldn't work.

[stands2reason]

Well, Ian Fleming drank pink gin.

How girly is that???

[Dumb_Ox]

Any chance scientists will retain the old definition while adding the newer distinction? "Genetic species" vs. "observed species", something like that?

[dread78645]

Simple - humans love to pigeonhole things and if something doesn't exactly fit, they make it fit.

'The Judean People's Front? I thought we were the People's Front of Judea'

[dread78645]

If it weren't for extinctions, the inter-relatedness of all species would be as immediately obvious ...

Good point.

[dread78645]

PimentoMan placemark

[js1138]

I'm sure that was my subconscious inspiration.

[js1138]

Any chance scientists will retain the old definition while adding the newer distinction? "Genetic species" vs. "observed species", something like that?

In the long run, say 50 years, there will be no difference. In the short run, it doesn't matter except to specialists.

[Larry Lucido]

defining mammalian species

Well, I'm no scientist, but I'd say let's start with mammaries.

[furball4paws]

Check out bacterial Numerical Taxonomy. Does what you say and has been around for 50 years or so, but it has problems of its own.

[mhking]

So does that mean that scientists are going to come up with species and dwarf species? After all, they seem to think it works for planets....

[js1138]

You like miniatures?

[csense]

We define a genetic species as a group of genetically compatible interbreeding natural populations that is genetically isolated from other such groups. This focus on genetic isolation rather than reproductive isolation distinguishes the Genetic Species Concept from the Biological Species Concept. Recognition of species that are genetically isolated (but not reproductively isolated) results in an enhanced understanding of biodiversity and the nature of speciation as well as speciation-based issues and evolution of mammals.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how can population A be genetically isolated from population B, if A is interbreeding with B.

[ml1954]

unless Congress acts to set the definition of the term species.

I think they have, but have not yet codified it. As a practical matter, as far as Congress is concerned, a species is any set of similar organic matter that might vote in a block or cause block voting due to it's existence.

[PatrickHenry]

My guess is that this new definition would, for example, divide a ring species into a few separate species, notwithstanding that at a newly-defined species' boundary, it is capable of cross-boundary interbreeding.

[Doctor Stochastic]

I haven't read the article, but it does look like the new definition is still not transitive. (But is need not be and perhaps cannot be, given the way biology works.)