Biosystematics 4369

Review and Sample Examination for Test 1

Review List

• Introductory materials

  • Old guys:  What they did and why it was important

• Position of systematics in biology

• Classification vs. taxonomy � natural groups

• Taxonomy at the species level

• Applications of systematics

• Historical perspectives

  • FORE

  • Folk taxonomies

    • Eidos � Aristotle

  • Rennaissance 17th

  • Linneaus 18th

  • Cuvier 18th-19th

  • Darwin 19th

    • Typological nominalist vs. biological viewpoints

  • Haeckel

  • Mendel

  • Morgan

• Mutation vs. Selection arguments

• Genetics as key vs. Nat.Sel. as key

• Princeton meetings and the evolutionary synthesis

• Rise of Pop.Gen

• Neodarwinian theory

• Population

  • Wish list

  • Defining it

  • Butterfly examples

• Characters useful in systematics

  • Chromosomes

    • Banding

    • Rearrangements

  • Genetic polymorphism and the WILD type

    • Protein electrophoresis

    • MtDNA

      • Sequence divergence

• Species concepts tied to characters

  • Typological

  • Nominalist

  • Biological � defined, critiqued, and rebutted

• Speciation

  • Allopatric

    • Races, ring species, seminspecies, cryptic species

    • Models and Reinforcement

  • Sympatric

    • Bush model

    • Allochrony, secondary contact and reinforcement,

  • Parapatric speciation

    • Clines

    • Mosaics

  • Parthenoforms

• Reproductive continuum and how concepts cope with that as a single character species method

• Chapters 1-3, 7,8, 12, 13 in Wheeler and Meier

• Pages 1-70 in Hennig

Sample Examination

1. Short Answer and Definitions  5pts each.

    

   a.  Folk Taxonomy

    

   b.  Natural group

    

   c.  Neighborhood

    

   d.  Cline

    

   e.  What is a hybrid zone?

    

2. Essay questions 25 pts each
   
   a. What is reinforcement and how does it relate to speciation? Integrate examples from nature, from genetics (eg. chromosomal mutations), a discusssion of RIMs, and its place each type (allopatric, parapatric, and sympatric) of conceptual speciation framework.
   
   b. What is a founder event and how can it influence populations toward or away from speciation? Include genetic and physical factors affecting founded populations.
   
   c. Propose and defend a species concept. Include in your concept discussion the application of your chosen concept in cases of parthenoforms and syngameons.

Class Syllabus         Research Paper Guidelines