Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Different species problems and their resolution.

Kevin de Queiroz1

  • 1Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560-0162, USA. dequeirk@si.edu

Bioessays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
|November 22, 2005
PubMed
Summary

The species problem is clarified by new conceptual solutions. These solutions resolve debates on species definition, enabling focus on species boundaries and evolutionary processes.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Mixed Support for Pleistocene Sea-Level Fluctuations in Promoting the Diversification of Anole Lizards in the Northern Lesser Antilles.

Molecular ecology·2026
Same author

Functional implications of ear loss in sand lizards.

Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)·2026
Same author

<b>Consideration of range-wide variation is critical when splitting widely distributed species: the case of the proposed <i>Iguana melanoderma</i></b>.

Zootaxa·2026
Same author

Anthropogenic or Natural Dispersal: Case of the Spiny-Tailed Iguanas (<i>Ctenosaura</i>) on Clarion Island, Mexico.

Ecology and evolution·2025
Same author

Whole-genome sequencing confirms multiple species of Galapagos giant tortoises.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2024
Same author

Applying 3D Models of Giant Salamanders to Explore Form-Function Relationships in Early Digit-Bearing Tetrapods.

Integrative and comparative biology·2024

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Systematics
  • Philosophy of Science

Background:

  • The term 'species problem' encompasses challenges in defining species' essential properties, identifying speciation processes, and determining species boundaries.
  • Existing conceptual solutions address species' necessary properties and the processes driving their existence.
  • These solutions have been perceived as conflicting but are actually compatible.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reconcile proposed conceptual solutions to the species problem.
  • To clarify the distinction between species' necessary properties and methods for inferring species limits.
  • To facilitate a shift from definitional debates to empirical studies of species diversity and evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of existing and proposed solutions to the species problem.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Re-evaluation of the relationship between species' necessary properties, speciation processes, and species delimitation.
  • Distinguishing between conceptual and methodological aspects of the species problem.

    • Main Results:

    • The species problem can be addressed by defining species as metapopulation lineages with necessary properties.
    • Viewing the species category as a cluster concept, without requiring single necessary processes, is compatible with the metapopulation lineage approach.
    • These compatible solutions clarify the methodological challenges in species delimitation.

    Conclusions:

    • Recent conceptual advances resolve key aspects of the species problem, moving beyond definitional disputes.
    • The compatibility of metapopulation lineage and cluster concepts offers a unified framework for species concepts.
    • This framework allows biology to focus on empirical research into species boundaries, numbers, and evolutionary dynamics.