Taxonomic limits (1 Viewer)

[Peter Kovalik]

Paul F. Donald. Accounting for clinal variation and covariation in the assessment of taxonomic limits: why we should remember the 'rules'. Ibis, posted online 17 December 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12908

 

[MJB]

Paul F. Donald. Accounting for clinal variation and covariation in the assessment of taxonomic limits: why we should remember the 'rules'. Ibis, posted online 17 December 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12908

This may throw a cat or two amongst the taxonomic Columbidae...!
MJB

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

This may throw a cat or two amongst the taxonomic Columbidae...!
MJB

i.e. ?

 

[THE_FERN]

i.e. ?

Yeah: no abstract that I could see. Could someone summarise?

 

[MJB]

i.e. ?

From the Conclusions:

"If it is accepted that ‘the designation of subspecies on the basis of arbitrary divisions of clinal character variation is not warranted by today’s standards’ (James 2010), and if that same standard applies to the designation of species, then analyses that are used to assess taxonomic limits should be equally independent of clinal variation. Furthermore, if many modern assessments of taxonomic limits do not adequately account for clinal variation, then it seems very likely that older assessments, from which we inherit the great majority of the taxonomic names and concepts currently in use, were even less stringent in this regard. The aim of this note is to remind readers of the prevalence of multiple, intercorrelated intraspecific patterns in nature, some of them first recognized well over a century ago, and to highlight some of the problems that might arise, and the opportunities that may be lost, if these are not quantitatively assessed." (My underlining)

It appears that much re-evaluation of earlier work could be called for.

The paper is tightly argued and would require someone with much more professional knowledge than I have to summarise it.
MJB
James, FC. 2010. Avian subspecies: Introduction. Ornithol. Monogr. 67: 1–5.

 

[Jim LeNomenclatoriste]

From the Conclusions:

"If it is accepted that ‘the designation of subspecies on the basis of arbitrary divisions of clinal character variation is not warranted by today’s standards’ (James 2010), and if that same standard applies to the designation of species, then analyses that are used to assess taxonomic limits should be equally independent of clinal variation. Furthermore, if many modern assessments of taxonomic limits do not adequately account for clinal variation, then it seems very likely that older assessments, from which we inherit the great majority of the taxonomic names and concepts currently in use, were even less stringent in this regard. The aim of this note is to remind readers of the prevalence of multiple, intercorrelated intraspecific patterns in nature, some of them first recognized well over a century ago, and to highlight some of the problems that might arise, and the opportunities that may be lost, if these are not quantitatively assessed." (My underlining)

It appears that much re-evaluation of earlier work could be called for.

The paper is tightly argued and would require someone with much more professional knowledge than I have to summarise it.
MJB
James, FC. 2010. Avian subspecies: Introduction. Ornithol. Monogr. 67: 1–5.

I wanted to know the tie (or an other word with the same meaning) with the columbidae 😅

 

[MJB]

I wanted to know the tie (or an other word with the same meaning) with the columbidae 😅

The original proverb is 'To put a cat among the pigeons'; amongst its meanings is 'to cause fierce argument or discussion by doing or saying something'. The earliest the expression appeared was in "J. Stevens 's New Spanish and English Dictionary ( 1706 ), where it is explained as referring to a man coming into the company of a group of women. The idiom flutter the dovecotes (see flutter) is based on the same idea of a group of pigeons as a tranquil or harmless community." (Source thefreedictionary.com)

 

[Nutcracker]

And here's the proof . . .

https://twitter.com/x/status/1342026302845579264