Of “Host Forms” and Host Races: Terminological Issues in Ecological Speciation

Successful communication and accurate inferences in science depend on the common understanding and consistent usage of the terms we apply to concepts of interest. Likewise, new terminology is required when important concepts have gone unnamed. Here, I focus on terminological issues about biological...

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Main Author: Daniel J. Funk
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2012-01-01
Series:International Journal of Ecology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/506957
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spelling doaj-a29446e2e77d4523b5be49f3caaccc172020-11-25T00:37:07ZengHindawi LimitedInternational Journal of Ecology1687-97081687-97162012-01-01201210.1155/2012/506957506957Of “Host Forms” and Host Races: Terminological Issues in Ecological SpeciationDaniel J. Funk0Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235-1634, USASuccessful communication and accurate inferences in science depend on the common understanding and consistent usage of the terms we apply to concepts of interest. Likewise, new terminology is required when important concepts have gone unnamed. Here, I focus on terminological issues about biological variation and ecological speciation, especially in herbivorous insects but also more generally. I call for the more restricted use of concepts that have sometimes been misapplied, and thus caution against synonymizing ecological speciation with sympatric speciation and the unwarranted invocation of “host races” to describe herbivorous insect differentiation. I also call for the qualified application of terms for different kinds of biological variation and for host range when confronting uncertainty. Among other “missing terms” introduced here is “host form,” a generic term describing any case of host-associated differences for which current evidence does not allow diagnosis of the specific kind of variation. Embracing the use of host form should free host race from its current overapplication. Finally, I present a case study in which Neochlamisus leaf beetle populations previously described as host forms are hereby declared to be host races, based on accumulated evidence supporting each of the associated criteria.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/506957
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Daniel J. Funk
spellingShingle Daniel J. Funk
Of “Host Forms” and Host Races: Terminological Issues in Ecological Speciation
International Journal of Ecology
author_facet Daniel J. Funk
author_sort Daniel J. Funk
title Of “Host Forms” and Host Races: Terminological Issues in Ecological Speciation
title_short Of “Host Forms” and Host Races: Terminological Issues in Ecological Speciation
title_full Of “Host Forms” and Host Races: Terminological Issues in Ecological Speciation
title_fullStr Of “Host Forms” and Host Races: Terminological Issues in Ecological Speciation
title_full_unstemmed Of “Host Forms” and Host Races: Terminological Issues in Ecological Speciation
title_sort of “host forms” and host races: terminological issues in ecological speciation
publisher Hindawi Limited
series International Journal of Ecology
issn 1687-9708
1687-9716
publishDate 2012-01-01
description Successful communication and accurate inferences in science depend on the common understanding and consistent usage of the terms we apply to concepts of interest. Likewise, new terminology is required when important concepts have gone unnamed. Here, I focus on terminological issues about biological variation and ecological speciation, especially in herbivorous insects but also more generally. I call for the more restricted use of concepts that have sometimes been misapplied, and thus caution against synonymizing ecological speciation with sympatric speciation and the unwarranted invocation of “host races” to describe herbivorous insect differentiation. I also call for the qualified application of terms for different kinds of biological variation and for host range when confronting uncertainty. Among other “missing terms” introduced here is “host form,” a generic term describing any case of host-associated differences for which current evidence does not allow diagnosis of the specific kind of variation. Embracing the use of host form should free host race from its current overapplication. Finally, I present a case study in which Neochlamisus leaf beetle populations previously described as host forms are hereby declared to be host races, based on accumulated evidence supporting each of the associated criteria.
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/506957
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