Species limits in Pteruthius (Aves: Corvida) shrike-babblers: a comparison between the Biological and Phylogenetic Species Concepts

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2301 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANK E. RHEINDT ◽  
JAMES A. EATON
Keyword(s):  
Species Concept ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Species Concepts ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Phylogenetic Species ◽  
Species Status ◽  
Phylogenetic Species Concept ◽  
Sampling Regime ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data

The question of how to define a species continues to divide biologists. Meanwhile, the application of different species concepts has led to disparate taxonomic treatments that confound conservationists and other biologists. The most widely followed guidelines to species designation in avian and other vertebrate taxonomy are Ernst Mayr’s Biological Species Concept (BSC) and Joel Cracraft’s version of the Phylogenetic Species Concept (PSC). Although the BSC is considered to be more conservative in its assignment of species status, there is a lack of research demonstrating differences in taxonomic treatment between the BSC and the PSC with reference to a multi-taxon multi-trait study system. We examined the case of five traditionally recognized species of shrike-babbler (Pteruthius) that have recently been divided into 19 species under the PSC. Re-analyzing previous morphological and molecular data and adding new vocal data, we propose a BSC classification of 9 species. However, taking into consideration geographic gaps in the sampling regime, we contend that additional data will likely reduce discrepancies between the total numbers of species designated under the PSC and BSC. The current PSC species total is a likely overestimate owing to species diagnosis based on characters that erroneously appear to be unique to a taxon at low sample size. The current BSC species total as here proposed is a likely underestimate on account of the conservative designation of taxa as subspecies in equivocal cases, e.g. where BSC species status is potentially warranted but may be masked by insufficient data.

A revision of the Trimeresurus puniceus-complex (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae) based on morphological and molecular data

Zootaxa ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1293 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
PATRICK DAVID ◽  
GERNOT VOGEL ◽  
S. P. VIJAYAKUMAR ◽  
NICOLAS VIDAL
Keyword(s):  
Species Concept ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Valid Species ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Phylogenetic Species Concept ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data ◽  
A New Species

The brown Asian pitvipers of the genus Trimeresurus related to Trimeresurus puniceus (informal Trimeresurus puniceus-complex) are revised on the basis of morphological and molecular analyses. Variation in morphological characters were investigated among 119 specimens from 62 populations of the whole range of the pitvipers currently known as Trimeresurus puniceus (Boie, 1827), Trimeresurus borneensis (Peters, 1872) and Trimeresurus brongersmai Hoge, 1969. Molecular and morphological analyses clearly differentiate two groups of taxa, referrable to the informal Trimeresurus puniceus-group and Trimeresurus borneensis-group, and confirm the distinct specific status of T. puniceus and T. borneensis. Morphological univariate and multivariate analyses differentiate six clusters of populations that are morphologically diagnosable, of which five are here considered to represent independent lineages and one is placed incertae sedis pending the availability of further specimens. These clusters are considered to be distinct species following the Biological Species Concept and the Phylogenetic Species Concept. One of them is described as a new species, Trimeresurus andalasensis spec. nov. (T. borneensis-group), which includes populations from northern Sumatra. Trimeresurus wiroti Trutnau, 1981 is revalidated to accommodate populations from Thailand and West Malaysia. Trimeresurus borneensis is here considered endemic to Borneo. Trimeresurus puniceus is known from Java and from South Sumatra, but the taxonomy of this species in Sumatra is left unresolved. Also left unresolved is the taxonomic position of specimens from western Sumatra and the Mentawai Archipelago, and from the Natuna Islands and Anamba Islands. Although belonging to the T. puniceus-group, they show some differences to other specimens of the group. They are not referred to any taxon pending the collection of additional specimens. Lastly, Trimeresurus brongersmai is confirmed as a valid species from the Mentawai Archipelago. A key to these taxa is provided.

scholarly journals An alternative species taxonomy of the birds of Mexico

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adolfo G. Navarro-Sigüenza ◽  
A. Townsend Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Species Concept ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Species Concepts ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Phylogenetic Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Species Concept ◽  
Alternative Species ◽  
Species Taxonomy

Extensive debate has surrounded the application of alternative species concepts in Ornithology. The biological species concept (BSC) and phylogenetic species concept (PSC) have typically been set in opposition, with extensive debate on the relative merits of each. An alternative is the evolutionary species concept (ESC), which offers a perspective similar to that of the PSC, yet with several significant differences. To date, no major avifauna has been examined and compared among taxonomic viewpoints. Herein, we develop an alternative phylogenetic/evolutionary species taxonomy to the current BSC treatment for the more than 1000 bird species of Mexico. A total of 135 biological species was divided to produce a total of 323 phylogenetic/evolutionary species, 122 of which represent “new” endemic forms in Mexico.

The increasing multiplicity of the species concepts

2005 ◽  
Vol 176 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-225
Author(s):  
Jean Génermont
Keyword(s):  
Species Concept ◽  
Cladistic Analysis ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Phylogenetic Species ◽  
Phylogenetic Species Concept ◽  
Ecological Criteria ◽  
Stem Species ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract In 1980, Henri Tintant advocated the usefulness of the biological species concept in paleontology. At this time, this concept was still accepted by many neontologists, but it was already rather severely criticized by some others. In fact, a lot of new concepts appeared in the course of the following two decades. While a few ones are mere adjustments of the biological concept, for instance taking in account ecological criteria, in such a way that it could be applied to clonal organisms, some others, which were developed in connexion with the cladistic theory of taxonomy, are truly new from a conceptual point of view. The diagnosable version of the phylogenetic species concept is somewhat reminiscent of Simpson’s evolutionary species concept, since it accepts phyletic speciation as well as survival of the stem species after a cladogenetic event. One of its more criticizable features, from a cladistic point of view, is that the species are not necessarilly monophyletic. On another hand, according to the monophyly version of the phylogenetic species concept, species are recognized rather subjectively as monophyletic taxa revealed by some previous cladistic analysis dealing with operational taxonomic units. A consensus on the definition of species cannot be expected, since all concepts related to the biological one are founded on population grouping on the basis of potentially identical evolutionary fates, while those which are related to cladistic taxonomy are exclusively concerned with historical features.

Species

2021 ◽  
pp. 219-238
Author(s):  
Andrew V. Z. Brower ◽  
Randall T. Schuh
Keyword(s):  
Species Concept ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Species Concepts ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Character State ◽  
Phylogenetic Species Concept ◽  
Units Of Analysis ◽  
Perceived Reality

This chapter studies the systematists' perspective on species concepts and the role of species in systematics. No matter how sophisticated the tools and methods enhancing the conceptualization of reality may become in the future, systematists will still be constrained by their perceptions. In their more modest, empirical view, systematists embrace their perceived reality and prefer species concepts that incorporate tools for identifying and delimiting species as empirical hypotheses, thereby providing them with efficacious working terminal elements for phylogenetic analysis and classification of more inclusive taxa. It is fortunate that cladists employed the notion of a “phylogenetic” species concept based on diagnosability before more metaphysically inclined authors appropriated the term for concepts founded on monophyly or common ancestors. As noted, Willi Hennig's species concept was a version of the “biological” species concept, and it fell to his followers to develop a species concept that is well suited to cladistic principles. Among the earliest of the post-Hennigian empiricists was American Museum ichthyologist Donn Rosen. Rosen's concept, sometimes called the apomorphic concept because of its requirement that every recognized species must have its own derived character state, accomplished two key advances for systematics: it proposed a cladistic criterion for recognizing species, and it defined species as the minimal units of analysis, as far as taxonomy is concerned, thus setting a lower bound for systematic inquiry.

Carboniferous fireworms (Amphinomida : Annelida), with a discussion of species taxa in palaeontology

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrik Pleijel ◽  
Greg W. Rouse ◽  
Jean Vannier
Keyword(s):  
New Records ◽  
Species Concept ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Species Concepts ◽  
Late Carboniferous ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Phylogenetic Species ◽  
Object Lesson

New records of Palaeocampa anthrax Meek&Worthen, 1865 with fossilized soft parts are provided from Montceau-les-Mines in France, late Carboniferous, permitting the identification of a new clade of extinct amphinomid polychaetes. The group also provides an object lesson for problems with species concepts in palaeontology. The biological species concept, the diagnosable phylogenetic species concepts, and the monophyletic phylogenetic species concepts are applied and discussed in the case of P. anthrax, as well as more generally in palaeontology. All three are rejected, but for different reasons. Instead we advocate the application of LITUs (least inclusive taxonomic unit), which refers to the smallest currently recognised taxa, but without making the unjustified rank assignments to species.

Fern nothogenera and ×Lepinema, a new hybrid genus between Ellipinema and Lepisorus (Polypodiaceae)

Phytotaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 455 (4) ◽  
pp. 262-266
Author(s):  
LIANG ZHANG ◽  
LI-BING ZHANG
Keyword(s):  
Species Concept ◽  
Intergeneric Hybrid ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Biological Species Concept

The biological species concept is not exclusively applicable in many groups of organisms including ferns. Interspecific fern hybrids are not rare: there are 16 intergeneric hybrid genera in ferns confirmed with molecular data. Here we add one more hybrid genus in the tribe Lepisoreae of Polypodiaceae, ×Lepinema, formed via hybridization between parents in two genera: Ellipinema and Lepisorus.

scholarly journals Systematics and bird conservation policies: the importance of species limits

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
OCTAVIO R. ROJAS-SOTO ◽  
ADOLFO G. NAVARRO-SIGÜENZA ◽  
ALEJANDRO ESPINOSA DE LOS MONTEROS
Keyword(s):  
Endangered Species ◽  
Species Concept ◽  
Valid Species ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Bird Conservation ◽  
Phylogenetic Species ◽  
Species Limits ◽  
Species List ◽  
Phylogenetic Species Concept ◽  
Species Lists

SummaryThe taxonomic criteria used as bases for endangered species lists can affect conservation policy decisions. We emphasize that the use of different taxonomic units affects the baselines of such lists. Recent taxonomic reviews for the Mexican avifauna provided the tools for assessing this effect on a highly diverse avifauna which is currently in need of serious conservation actions. Most ornithologists have used a taxonomy based on the biological species concept (BSC) to make decisions on species limits and therefore to set them into endangered species lists. However, the application of the phylogenetic species concept (PSC) as an alternative for delimiting species, results in a different panorama of what should be protected. Our analysis shows that the current official Mexican endangered species list, BSC based, encompasses 371 birds, ranked as 277 species and 94 subspecies. The same list of protected forms changes under the phylogenetic species concept because 47 of them are not recognized as valid species, while another 28 forms merit higher levels of protection. Additionally, under this concept another 11 forms should be candidates for inclusion based on their restricted distribution. We call attention to the fact that the use of one or another species concept affects endangered species lists.

scholarly journals Predictors of Taxonomic Inflation and its Role in Primate Conservation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria J.A. Creighton ◽  
Alice Q. Luo ◽  
Simon M. Reader ◽  
Arne Ø. Mooers
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Species Concept ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Primate Conservation ◽  
Phylogenetic Species Concept ◽  
Initial Application ◽  
Positive Message

ABSTRACTSpecies are the main unit used to measure biodiversity, but different preferred diagnostic criteria can lead to very different delineations. For instance, named primate species have more than doubled since 1982. Such increases have been termed “taxonomic inflation” and have been attributed to the widespread adoption of the ‘phylogenetic species concept’ (PSC) in preference to the previously popular ‘biological species concept’ (BSC). Criticisms of the PSC have suggested taxonomic inflation may be biased toward particular taxa and have unfavourable consequences for conservation. Here, we explore predictors of taxonomic inflation across primate taxa since the initial application of the PSC nearly 40 years ago. We do not find evidence that diversification rate, the rate of lineage formation over evolutionary time, is linked to inflation, contrary to expectations if the PSC identifies incipient species. We also do not find evidence of research effort in fields where work has been suggested to motivate splitting being associated with increases in species numbers among genera. To test the suggestion that splitting groups is likely to increase their perceived risk of extinction, we test whether genera that have undergone more splitting have also observed a greater increase in their proportion of threatened species since the introduction of the PSC. We find no cohesive signal of inflation leading to higher threat probabilities across primate genera. Overall, this analysis sends a positive message that threat statuses of primate species are not being overwhelmingly affected by splitting in line with what has recently been reported for birds. Regardless, we echo warnings that it is unwise for conservation to be reliant on taxonomic stability. Species (however defined) are not independent from one another, thus, monitoring and managing them as such may not meet the overarching goal of conserving biodiversity.

scholarly journals Geographic Variation in the Wingtip Patterns of Black-Legged Kittiwakes

The Condor ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 687-693
Author(s):  
John W. Chardine
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Species Concept ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Genotypic Differences ◽  
Phylogenetic Species Concept ◽  
Rissa Tridactyla ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Circumpolar Arctic

Abstract This paper reports geographic variation in wingtip patterns of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) from the circumpolar Arctic. The amount of black in the wingtip increased and the amount of white decreased from Arctic Canada–west Greenland, counterclockwise to the Pacific. Differences were greatest between Pacific and Atlantic, but were also apparent within the Atlantic sample. Patterns of variation were not clinal. Known levels of philopatry in kittiwakes would tend to maintain both phenotypic and genotypic differences between regions, but the similarity of birds from Newfoundland, British Isles, and Barents Sea suggests some degree of dispersal over this wide area. Wingtip pattern data support continued separation of Pacific and Atlantic kittiwakes into two subspecies under the biological species concept. Under the phylogenetic species concept, Pacific and Atlantic Black-legged Kittiwakes may represent two species. Variación Geográfica en los Patrones de Coloración de la Punta del Ala de Rissa tridactyla Resumen. Este trabajo presenta la variación geográfica existente en los patrones de coloración de la punta del ala de Rissa tridactyla en el área circumpolar ártica. La cantidad de negro en la punta del ala incrementó y la cantidad de blanco disminuyó desde el ártico canadiense y el oeste de Groenlandia en sentido contrario a las agujas del reloj hacia el Pacífico. Las mayores diferencias se registraron entre el Pacífico y el Atlántico, pero también fueron evidentes en la muestra del Atlántico. Los patrones de variación no fueron graduales. Los niveles conocidos de filopatría en R. tridactyla tenderían a mantener las diferencias tanto fenotípicas como genotípicas entre regiones, pero la similitud de las aves de Newfoundland, las Islas Británicas y el Mar de Barents sugiere algún grado de dispersión a través de esta extensa área. Considerando el concepto biológico de especie, los datos sobre los patrones de la punta del ala apoyan la separación de las aves del Pacífico y del Atlántico en dos subespecies. Considerando el concepto filogenético de especie, los individuos de R. tridactyla del Pacífico y del Atlántico pueden pertenecer a dos especies diferentes.

Species limits in Antbirds (Aves: Passeriformes: Thamnophilidae): an evaluation of Plumbeous Antvireo (Dysithamnus plumbeus) based on vocalizations

Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1726 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
MORTON L. ISLER ◽  
PHYLLIS R. ISLER ◽  
BRET M. WHITNEY
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Species Concept ◽  
Biological Species ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Biological Species Concept ◽  
Species Status ◽  
Species Limits ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Northern Peru ◽  
Contrary Evidence

Through most of the 20th Century, Dysithamnus plumbeus was considered to comprise three geographically remote subspecies based on plumage: D. p. plumbeus of the lowlands of southeastern Brazil; D. p. leucostictus of the east slope of the Andes from central Colombia to extreme northern Peru; and D .p tucuyensis endemic to the mountains of northern Venezuela. Some recent authors have elevated these taxa to species status without providing additional evidence. We analyzed vocal differences among these taxa and compared the extent of diagnostic differences to a benchmark for species status under the Biological Species Concept (BSC). Vocalizations of D. plumbeus differed sufficiently from the others for D. plumbeus to be considered specifically distinct. Although both calls and loudsongs of the two remaining taxa differed from each other in some aspects, the differences did not meet our benchmark for species separation. We therefore recommend that they be designated as D. leucostictus leucostictus and D. leucostictus tucuyensis pending the acquisition of additional vocal recordings or other contrary evidence.

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