At 08:27 AM 4/29/04 -0700, Tom Parker wrote:
As literature background, reference to the book: Species. the Units of
Biodiversity
'Units' of biodiversity? Hmm, this is exactly the problem which has prevented
cogent treatment of the matter from a realist perspective. The fundamental
ontological mistake associated with many species definitions is that there is
the assumption that species are individuals, entities, things, etc. One does
not experience species, they experience organisms. This is why I point out in
the slide show that 'species' can only be construed as explanatory hypotheses.
Kirk
-----------------------------------------------------
J. Kirk Fitzhugh, Ph.D.
Associate Curator of Polychaetes
Invertebrate Zoology Section
Research & Collections Branch
Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History
900 Exposition Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90007
Phone: 213-763-3233
FAX: 213-746-2999
e-mail: kfitzhug at nhm.orghttp://www.nhm.org/research/annelida/index.html
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