ochlospecies

[Ken Kinman]

     I am wondering how an ochlospecies differs from a polytypic species.
     And yes, this is a little busy for Taxacom in the summer time, but
sometimes even busier in fall & winter.
                         --------Ken

>From: david baum <dbaum at OEB.HARVARD.EDU>
>Reply-To: david baum <dbaum at OEB.HARVARD.EDU>
>To: TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG
>Subject: ochlospecies
>Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 13:27:58 -0400

>The term "ochlospecies" does indeed come from this root but it has a quite
>different meaning.  As I understand it (remembering back to Frank White's
>lectures when I was an undergraduate), the term refers to widespread
>"species" that show extensive, geographically-structured, morphological
>variation.  A crude caricature might be: an ochlospecies is a lumpers
>equivalent to a splitters "species complex."  Does this fit with other
>people's understanding?
>
>Going back to the original question, molecular data have great power to
>detect whether groups of organisms have a unique genealogical history (have
>been reproductively isolated for a long time).  My sense is that FW  would
>have predicted that a local population sampled from an "ochlospecies" would
>would be comprised of genetically similar individuals - but would not have
>a unique genetic history relative to the forms found elsewhere in the
>range.  Thus, they would show greater clustering in genetic space, but
>would not be genealogically exclusive.
>
>Is taxacom always so busy?
>
>David
>
>David Baum
>Dept. Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
>Harvard University Herbaria
>22 Divinity Avenue
>Cambridge MA 02138
>
>Tel: (617)496-6744, -8766
>Fax: (617)495-9484
>dbaum at oeb.harvard.edu
>http://www.herbaria.harvard.edu/~dbaum


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