Species
Concept · Biology, stage 1: Learn the vocabulary
A species is the basic unit biologists count populations in, but there is no single agreed definition of it. The biological species concept, associated with Ernst Mayr, defines a species as a group of populations that interbreed in nature and are reproductively isolated from other such groups. It fails for organisms that do not reproduce sexually, for fossils, and for populations that hybridise, so working biologists use several competing concepts depending on the group they study.
Why it matters
Species counts underpin conservation law, biodiversity measurement, and the whole of classification, so an unstable definition has consequences well outside biology.
Part of
Sources
- Species Wikipedia
- Species Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyLays out the competing species concepts side by side and why the disagreement has not resolved.
- Speciation: The Origin of New Species Nature Education Scitable
