Taxonomy is important in conservation: a preliminary reassessment of Philippine species-level bird taxonomy
Issue Date
2006Author
Peterson, A. Townsend
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
Rights
Bird Conservation International (2006) 16:155–173. © BirdLife International 2006
doi:10.1017/S0959270906000256 Printed in the United Kingdom
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Alpha taxonomy involves delineation of the basic unit of biology: the species. The concepts by
which we define species, however, have been controversial, with several alternatives competing
at present, some creating fewer and some more species units, depending on interpretation of
species limits. Although it is tempting to assume that species concepts would have little interaction
with the geographic foci of species richness and endemism — and some have so argued
— this assumption does not withstand careful analysis. In this paper, I develop a first-pass
assessment of Philippine bird taxonomy under an alternative species concept, and compare the
results with the traditional biological species concept lists. Differences between the two lists
were dramatic, but not just in numbers of species; rather, new, previously unrecognized or
previously underappreciated foci of endemism were noted. A thorough understanding of the
taxonomic basis of species lists is therefore critical to conservation planning.
Collections
Citation
Peterson, A. T. 2006. Taxonomy is important in conservation: A preliminary reassessment of Philippine species-level bird taxonomy. Bird Conservation International 16:155-173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0959270906000256
Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.