Cladistic species definitions can lead to under-representation of biodiversity from adaptive radiations

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Authors

George Francis Turner

Abstract

Many species are paraphyletic, but current taxonomic practices often do not recognise this, and attempts are made to apply a monophyletic species concept. While allowing the recognition of ecomorphologically equivalent, or even phenotypically indistinguishable allopatric taxa as species, this often leads to combining distinctive local forms (such as cave-adapted populations) or even whole adaptive radiations (often in lakes) with widespread paraphyletic species to force species monophyly. It is suggested that this has negative consequences for our documentation and understanding of biodiversity, as well as for conservation, through issues such as lack of IUCN redlisting.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32942/X2HG84

Subjects

Life Sciences

Keywords

species definition, adaptive radiation, paraphyletic species

Dates

Published: 2024-05-30 02:24

License

No Creative Commons license

Additional Metadata

Language:
English