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Frank E. Zachos offers a comprehensive review of one of today's
most important and contentious issues in biology: the species
problem. After setting the stage with key background information on
the topic, the book provides a brief history of species concepts
from antiquity to the Modern Synthesis, followed by a discussion of
the ontological status of species with a focus on the individuality
thesis and potential means of reconciling it with other
philosophical approaches. More than 30 different species concepts
found in the literature are presented in an annotated list, and the
most important ones, including the Biological, Genetic,
Evolutionary and different versions of the Phylogenetic Species
Concept, are discussed in more detail. Specific questions addressed
include the problem of asexual and prokaryotic species,
intraspecific categories like subspecies and Evolutionarily
Significant Units, and a potential solution to the species problem
based on a hierarchical approach that distinguishes between
ontological and operational species concepts. A full chapter is
dedicated to the challenge of delimiting species by means of a
discrete taxonomy in a continuous world of inherently fuzzy
boundaries. Further, the book outlines the practical ramifications
for ecology and evolutionary biology of how we define the species
category, highlighting the danger of an apples and oranges problem
if what we subsume under the same name ("species") is in actuality
a variety of different entities. A succinct summary chapter,
glossary and annotated list of references round out the coverage,
making the book essential reading for all biologists looking for an
accessible introduction to the historical, philosophical and
practical dimensions of the species problem.
Key Features A timely book for a still pressing problem
Contributions by many of the leading figures in the debate.
Summarizes the many new contributions to the field of recent years.
For the use of upper level seminars and courses A dialogue format
will generate further discussion
Key Features A timely book for a still pressing problem
Contributions by many of the leading figures in the debate.
Summarizes the many new contributions to the field of recent years.
For the use of upper level seminars and courses A dialogue format
will generate further discussion
Frank E. Zachos offers a comprehensive review of one of today's
most important and contentious issues in biology: the species
problem. After setting the stage with key background information on
the topic, the book provides a brief history of species concepts
from antiquity to the Modern Synthesis, followed by a discussion of
the ontological status of species with a focus on the individuality
thesis and potential means of reconciling it with other
philosophical approaches. More than 30 different species concepts
found in the literature are presented in an annotated list, and the
most important ones, including the Biological, Genetic,
Evolutionary and different versions of the Phylogenetic Species
Concept, are discussed in more detail. Specific questions addressed
include the problem of asexual and prokaryotic species,
intraspecific categories like subspecies and Evolutionarily
Significant Units, and a potential solution to the species problem
based on a hierarchical approach that distinguishes between
ontological and operational species concepts. A full chapter is
dedicated to the challenge of delimiting species by means of a
discrete taxonomy in a continuous world of inherently fuzzy
boundaries. Further, the book outlines the practical ramifications
for ecology and evolutionary biology of how we define the species
category, highlighting the danger of an apples and oranges problem
if what we subsume under the same name ("species") is in actuality
a variety of different entities. A succinct summary chapter,
glossary and annotated list of references round out the coverage,
making the book essential reading for all biologists looking for an
accessible introduction to the historical, philosophical and
practical dimensions of the species problem.
Biodiversity and its conservation are among the main global topics
in science and politics and perhaps the major challenge for the
present and coming generations. This book written by international
experts from different disciplines comprises general chapters on
diversity and its measurement, human impacts on biodiversity
hotspots on a global scale, human diversity itself and various
geographic regions exhibiting high levels of diversity. The areas
covered range from genetics and taxonomy to evolutionary biology,
biogeography and the social sciences. In addition to the classic
hotspots in the tropics, the book also highlights various other
ecosystems harbouring unique species communities including coral
reefs and the Southern Ocean. The approach taken considers, but is
not limited to, the original hotspot definition sensu stricto and
presents a chapter introducing the 35th hotspot, the forests of
East Australia. While, due to a bias in data availability, the
majority of contributions on particular taxa deal with vertebrates
and plants, some also deal with the less-studied invertebrates.
This book will be essential reading for anyone involved with
biodiversity, particularly researchers and practitioners in the
fields of conservation biology, ecology and evolution.
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