Exist sub-species?

[Panza, Robin]

The only bird literature I know of on this topic is anti-subspecies.
However, I don't agree with this.  My background in population genetics
gives me a good but somewhat impractical definition (like Mayr's "biological
species concept).  When gene flow is near 100%, there is a monotypic
species.  When gene flow is near 0%, there are two species.  When there is
an intermediate level of gene flow, "significantly" below 100% but
"significantly" above 0%, there are two races of one species.  When I say
gene flow, I do *not* mean hybridization.  There must be introgression, that
is, genes from one population entering the gene pool of the other.  I cannot
define "significantly", which is part of the impacticality of my definition.

just my 2 cents.

Robin

Robin K Panza                  panzar at carnegiemuseums.org
Collection Manager, Section of Birds      ph:  412-622-3255
Carnegie Museum of Natural History       fax: 412-622-8837
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh  PA  15213-4080  USA



between populations is "significantly" lower than that across each
population

-----Original Message-----
From: Gerardo Tapia [mailto:grodrig at XOLO.CONABIO.GOB.MX]
Sent: Monday, 08 November, 1999 2:11 PM
To: TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG
Subject: Exist sub-species?????


Taxacomers

What is your opinion to this question:

-Do sub-species exist?
- And if they do how are they defined?

P. S. Can you cite the literature on this subject.

Thanks
Gerardo Tapia