There are many different concepts of what constitutes a species. These concepts include biological, ecological, evolutionary, and phylogenetic species concepts. There is no universal agreement on how to define species. Determining whether species are real, and delineating species boundaries accurately is challenging given the various concepts and lack of consensus on an approach. Higher taxa concepts are also debated in terms of their philosophical reality.

1. Species Concepts

5. Key questions to be answered How to define species? How to decide between species concepts? Do species really exist?

7. Similarity Concepts Overall similarity and/or gaps in character distributions (<MorphSC, PhenotSC, TaxSC,...) Evolutionary Concepts Theoretical commitment to evolutionary theory (BioSC, EcolSC, EvolSC, RecogSC, CohSC,...) Phylogenetic Concepts Commitment to phylogenetics (<CladSC,PhyloSC, HennigSC,...) Three main breeds of species concepts

8. Some Definitions Biological species A group of interbreeding natural populations that do successfully mate or reproduce with other such groups The smallest group of cohesive individuals that share intrinsic cohesive mechanisms (e.g. interbreeding ability, niche) A lineage which occupies an adaptive zone. Ecological species concept defines a species as a group of organisms that share a distinct ecological niche. A single lineage of ancestor-descendant populations which is distinct from other such lineages and which has its own evolutionary tendencies and historical fate Cohesion species Ecological species Evolutionary species

11. Biological species Cohesion species Ecological species Evolutionary species Cohesion is difficult to recognize, prezygotic and postzygotic isolating mechanisms are mostly unknown Species concept Practical application Strengths / weaknesses Difficult Difficult Difficult Difficult Popular, explains why the members of a species resemble one another and differ from other species (shared gene pool + reproductive isolation). Irrelevant to fossils, asexual organisms, complicated by natural hybridization, polyploidy, etc. Adaptive zones/ Niches, difficult to define, assumes two species cannot occupy the same niche for even a short period (but what to do with life stages…) Criteria vague and difficult to observe (see also PSC)

12. Morphological species Phylogenetic species Recognition species Morphological criteria may not reflect actual links that hold organisms together into a natural unit; only possibility for paleontologists; but what with cryptic species? Will give rise to recognition of many more species than more traditional concepts; but from what point onwards do we conceive différences to be ‘statistically significant’? Determining if a feature is used to recognize potential mates is difficult or impossible in many populations (note that this concept has been succesfully demonstarted with amphibians, crickets,…) Species concept Practical application Strengths / weaknesses Common Increasing Difficult

13. The phylogenetic species concept Speciation and phylogenetic relationships Dispersal + subsequent character change Vicariance Sympatric

17. Higher taxon reality Are genera, families, etc., real? At the species level there are a number of competing concepualizations. At higher levels we have the opposite problem. We lack criteria to use in evaluating the question.

18. Higher taxon reality If a genus is just a mono- phyletic group larger than a species and smaller than a family, we can determine if such groups exist.

19. Cited works: R. Descartes, 1641. Meditationes de prima philosophia. Published by someone a really long time ago. M.T. Ghiselin, 1974. A radical solution to the species problem. Systematic Zoology, 23(4): 536-544. M. Pigliucci, 2003. Species as family resemblance concepts: the (dis-)solution of the species problem? BioEssays, 25(6): 596-602. F. Pleijel & M. Harlin, 2004. Phylogenetic nomenclature is compatible with diverse philosophical perspectives. Zoologica Scripta, 33(4): 587-591. L. Wittgenstein, 1921. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, trans. by D. Pears and B. McGuinness. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

20. “ Damn your principles, stick to your party” Benjam Disraeli (1804-1881)