ECOLOGY AND TAXONOMY: A NEW APPROACH, USING HETEROHYRAX VS PROCAVIA AS A CASE STUDY
In: Israel Journal of Ecology and EvolutionSearch for other papers by JEHESKEL SHOSHANI in
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Morphological and molecular characters for solving taxonomic problems have been employed for many years. A new method for resolving phylogenetic issues involves a synthesis of anatomical and ecological observations and can be used to predict one of three ecological parameters when the other two are known. Naturally occurring population densities of sympatric species, when carefully analyzed, can provide information on the phylogenetic relationships of these species if certain criteria are met. The major outline of this hypothesis is: (1) In a typical ecological pyramid, species which occupy a consumer trophic level coexist in a ratio (actual numbers) determined by whether they are euryphagous or stenophagous; (2) For a meaningful comparison, a pair of species must satisfy these Criteria: a) they are of the same taxonomic order; b) they are of approximately the same body size or of equal biomass; c) they are contemporaneous; and d) they are syntopic and sympatric. Examples: Heterohyrax brucei vs Procavia capensis (=P. johnstoni) in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania; Phacochoerus aethiopicus vs Kobus (=Adenota) kob thomasi in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; and Mammut americanum vs Mammuthus in the USA. The first member of each pair is phylogenetically more generalized (primitive) than the second. Hypothesis: Population densities of species are affected by habitat preferences and skeletal anatomies, especially dental structures (taphonomical considerations, for extinct species, will be discussed below). Given that the four criteria listed above hold, then, if two of three ecological parameters (relative numbers, anatomical structures, and habitats) are known, the third can be predicted. Predictions can be useful for unknown species A and species B, whose sympatric habitat (e.g., diverse forest suitable for euryphagous species) and relative numbers are known (e.g., A was found in significantly greater numbers than B)—then, it may be predicted that species A is more phylogenetically primitive than species B). At present, data are available to corroborate this hypothesis for five mammalian species-pairs; those of other vertebrate taxa (e.g., avian, and reptilian) are being studied.
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ECOLOGY AND TAXONOMY: A NEW APPROACH, USING HETEROHYRAX VS PROCAVIA AS A CASE STUDY
In: Israel Journal of Ecology and EvolutionSearch for other papers by JEHESKEL SHOSHANI in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Morphological and molecular characters for solving taxonomic problems have been employed for many years. A new method for resolving phylogenetic issues involves a synthesis of anatomical and ecological observations and can be used to predict one of three ecological parameters when the other two are known. Naturally occurring population densities of sympatric species, when carefully analyzed, can provide information on the phylogenetic relationships of these species if certain criteria are met. The major outline of this hypothesis is: (1) In a typical ecological pyramid, species which occupy a consumer trophic level coexist in a ratio (actual numbers) determined by whether they are euryphagous or stenophagous; (2) For a meaningful comparison, a pair of species must satisfy these Criteria: a) they are of the same taxonomic order; b) they are of approximately the same body size or of equal biomass; c) they are contemporaneous; and d) they are syntopic and sympatric. Examples: Heterohyrax brucei vs Procavia capensis (=P. johnstoni) in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania; Phacochoerus aethiopicus vs Kobus (=Adenota) kob thomasi in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; and Mammut americanum vs Mammuthus in the USA. The first member of each pair is phylogenetically more generalized (primitive) than the second. Hypothesis: Population densities of species are affected by habitat preferences and skeletal anatomies, especially dental structures (taphonomical considerations, for extinct species, will be discussed below). Given that the four criteria listed above hold, then, if two of three ecological parameters (relative numbers, anatomical structures, and habitats) are known, the third can be predicted. Predictions can be useful for unknown species A and species B, whose sympatric habitat (e.g., diverse forest suitable for euryphagous species) and relative numbers are known (e.g., A was found in significantly greater numbers than B)—then, it may be predicted that species A is more phylogenetically primitive than species B). At present, data are available to corroborate this hypothesis for five mammalian species-pairs; those of other vertebrate taxa (e.g., avian, and reptilian) are being studied.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 356 | 75 | 22 |
| Full Text Views | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 5 | 0 | 0 |
