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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
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Sat, 2 Feb 2019 18:41:02 -0500
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Regarding honey bee subspecies:

Like most questions for which multiple cor-rect answers exist, the century-long debate over the meaning and utility of the subspecies concept has produced spirited print but only superficial consensus. Naming subspecies codifies our recognition (traceable to Darwin) that species are neither static nor unitary across space and time.

Few biologists dispute that understanding intraspecific geographic variation remains elemental to understanding evolution, or that naming distinguishable geographic units (whether as species or as subunits of species) facilitates conversations about them. Subspecific names provide convenient handles by which to describe, sort, store, retrieve, and discuss certain kinds of information about phenotypic geographic variation. 

Beyond these generalizations, however, opinions about meaning and process associated with subspecies remain as diverse as ever. Indeed, diversity of opinion on the subspecies question has been amplified, not narrowed, by today’s burgeoning access to genetic information about spatial variation within species and near-species.

from:
Subspecies are for Convenience
by John W. Fitzpatrick
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Ithaca, New York  USA

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