{"title":"Chapter 13: Alaska Song Sparrows (Melospiza Melodia) Demonstrate that Genetic Marker and Method of Analysis Matter in Subspecies Assessments","authors":"C. L. Pruett, K. Winker","doi":"10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.162","url":null,"abstract":"w e examined genetic and morphological characteristics of the Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) of northwestern North America, which have a relatively large number of phe- notypically described subspecies (n = 6 in this region). mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences showed little information about these subspecies, with no reciprocal monophyly evident. however, differences in body mass and microsatellite allele frequencies supported continued recognition of subspecific units for taxonomy and conservation. Song Sparrow subspecies in this region are probably representative of many recently diverged populations that have not been isolated long enough for complete lineage sorting using mtDNA markers, yet which have evolved differences that are likely to be genetically based. we emphasize the importance of using multiple lines of evidence, genetic and morphological, in assessing subspecific status, lest we overlook important biological diversity that has accrued below the level of full species.","PeriodicalId":54665,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Monographs","volume":"67 1","pages":"162-171"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.162","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66884703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chapter 6: Subspecies as a Meaningful Taxonomic Rank in Avian Classification","authors":"J. V. Remsen","doi":"10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.62","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.62","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Dissatisfaction with the subspecies unit of classification is, in part, a consequence of the failure of many of those who have described subspecies to follow the conceptual definition of the subspecies, namely that it should represent diagnosable units. The antiquity of the descriptions of most subspecies (median year of description of currently recognized subspecies estimated to be 1908–1909) means that the majority predated any statistical tools for assessing diagnosability. The traditional subspecies concept, as originally construed, identifies minimum diagnosable units as terminal taxa, and I suggest that it is thus essentially synonymous with the phylogenetic species concept. Therefore, both must deal with the fundamental difficulties inherent in using diagnosability as a criterion. Application of monophyly as a criterion for taxon rank at the population level has inherent difficulties. An advantage of the biological species concept is that it incorporates, in its classification of taxa, ass...","PeriodicalId":54665,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Monographs","volume":"67 1","pages":"62-78"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.62","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66884673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chapter 3: Null Expectations in Subspecies Diagnosis","authors":"M. Patten","doi":"10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.35","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.35","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The utility of subspecies in studies of evolution and migration and in conservation planning has been debated hotly for a half-century. Inconsistent and sometimes sloppy application of the subspecies concept has led some to deem it a failure, but recent quantitative definitions of subspecies have put the concept on more rigorous footing. Nonetheless, the molecular revolution has added fuel to the fire as researchers attempt to test subspecies by genetic means. Until a sound and defensible null expectation is developed for genetic differentiation of subspecies, genetic approaches will be fraught with problems. A test for monophyly is insufficient, because parapatric subspecies interbreed by definition. Moreover, because much geographic variation may arise via natural selection, tests restricted to selectively neutral genetic data are likewise problematic. Moreover, long-standing charges of subjectivity in the naming and diagnosis of subspecies must be addressed if subspecies are to continue to be ...","PeriodicalId":54665,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Monographs","volume":"67 1","pages":"35-41"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.35","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66884615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chapter 4: Subspecies Origination and Extinction in Birds","authors":"Albert B. Phillimore","doi":"10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.42","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.42","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Avian taxonomists have traditionally used subspecies to describe geographic variation in morphology, plumage, and song. A complementary evolutionary perspective is that subspecies are incipient species, representing the first stages of speciation. Here, I review the evidence that subspecies may capture early stages of the speciation process and consider what we have learned about factors that drive subspecies diversification. I apply variants on the birth–death model to species age and subspecies richness data from 1,100 bird species. Clade-wide estimates of species diversification rates correlate positively with subspecies origination (hereafter \"subspeciation\") rates but not subspecies richness; thus, the evidence for heritable factors promoting speciation and subspeciation is equivocal. Subspeciation rates are higher among insular than among continental species, although this result is highly sensitive to the definition of insularity. A posteriori simulations based on the maximum-likelihood co...","PeriodicalId":54665,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Monographs","volume":"67 1","pages":"42-53"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.42","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66884616","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chapter 7: Revisiting Species and Subspecies of Island Birds for a Better Assessment of Biodiversity","authors":"H. D. Pratt","doi":"10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.79","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.79","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Outdated and overly lumped alpha taxonomy among the world's island birds has serious consequences for scientific research and conservation. The underestimation of biodiversity on islands obscures their role as speciation laboratories, distorts sampling in genetic studies, biases research planning, leads to neglect of endangered island species mistakenly classified as subspecies, and reduces potentially valuable information that might be gathered by recreational birders. Suggestions such as abandoning the biological species concept and the subspecies category in favor of the phylogenetic species concept create new problems and disrupt widely understood terminology. I review avian taxonomic history in the Hawaiian Islands, speciation patterns in Pacific island pigeons and doves, and patterns of variation in the widespread Polynesian Starling (Aplonis tabuensis) to demonstrate that the biological species concept, if applied with consideration of potential isolating mechanisms, vagility, and degree o...","PeriodicalId":54665,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Monographs","volume":"67 1","pages":"78-89"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.79","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66884679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chapter 5: Subspecies are for Convenience","authors":"J. Fitzpatrick","doi":"10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.54","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.54","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The century-long debate over the meaning and utility of the subspecies concept has produced spirited print but only superficial consensus. I suggest that genuine consensus about subspecies is an impossible goal, because trinomial epithets will inevitably be applied to a heterogeneous mix of evolutionary phenomena, thereby precluding genuine standardization of the concept. Populations that have intermediate levels of phenotypic differentiation and geographic isolation from one another often fall into a region I refer to as the \"zone of art,\" where even skilled experts can disagree about the validity of any one subspecific treatment. The trinomial system cannot accurately represent the kind of information now available about genetic and character variation across space. Instead, ever more accurate tools are being perfected for quantitative, standardized descriptions of variation. These analyses—not subspecies classifications—will keep providing new scientific insights into geographic variation. Eve...","PeriodicalId":54665,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Monographs","volume":"67 1","pages":"54-61"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.54","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66884621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Avian Subspecies and the U.S. Endangered Species Act","authors":"S. Haig, Jesse D’Elia","doi":"10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.24","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Scientific debate over identification of taxa below the species level has persisted for centuries. This issue can be especially problematic for avian species, because dispersal is often orders of magnitude greater than in other vertebrates, leaving genetic differences among groups proportionately smaller. While the debate lingers, management decisions, often with millions of dollars and potential extinctions resting on the outcome, are regularly made by agencies tasked with maintaining lists of threatened and endangered taxa. With outdated taxonomic treatments and no formal policy or guidelines for defining species or subspecies, agencies have no authority to cite in determining limits to species or subspecies ranges. Lack of guidance from professional organizations regarding taxonomic criteria and lists does not benefit these species of concern. Here, we describe how subspecies designations are evaluated under the Endangered Species Act, tradeoffs between maintaining the biological species conce...","PeriodicalId":54665,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Monographs","volume":"67 1","pages":"24-34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.24","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66884566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chapter 1: Subspecies Represent Geographically Partitioned Variation, A Gold Mine of Evolutionary Biology, and a Challenge for Conservation","authors":"K. Winker","doi":"10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.6","url":null,"abstract":"in this review i summarize the history of the subspecies concept and the major debates and issues surrounding its use, with an emphasis on ornithology, in which the concept originated. The study of subspecific variation in birds has been an important driving force in the development of evolutionary biology. Subspecific study has also been essential in the description and preservation of biodiversity. Although controversy has surrounded the concept of subspecies since its inception, it continues to play an important role in both basic and applied science. i cover 10 relevant issues that have been largely resolved during this 150-year controversy, although not all are widely appreciated or universally accepted. These include nomenclature, sampling theory, evolutionary biology, and the heterogeneity of named subspecies. i also address three big unresolved questions and some of the philosophy of science related to them: What are subspecies, how do we diagnose them, and what does subspecific variation mean? discordance between genotypic and phenotypic data at these shallow evolutionary levels should be expected. The process of diagnosing states that exist along a continuum of differentiation can be difficult and contentious and necessarily has some arbitrariness; professional standards can be developed so that such diagnoses are objective. Taxonomies will change as standards do and as more data accrue. Given present evidence, our null hypothesis should be that subspecific variation probably reflects local adaptation. in looking forward, it seems assured that geographically partitioned variation— and the convenient label \"subspecies\"—will continue to play an integral role in zoology.","PeriodicalId":54665,"journal":{"name":"Ornithological Monographs","volume":"67 1","pages":"6-23"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1525/OM.2010.67.1.6","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"66884623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}