The use of the category “subspecies” in the taxonomy of living organisms was proposed by biologists from universities in Russia, China and Slovakia. On October 23, the press service of the Russian Scientific Foundation (RSF) reports.
As project director Nikolai Poyarkov said: “The approach we propose will allow us to take greater account of the Earth’s biological diversity, while avoiding the description of an excessive number of new species. In addition, it will contribute to the conservation of biodiversity at different levels – both species and intraspecific – and to the development of more appropriate measures to protect rare and endangered organisms.” _
He also pointed out that “Recognition of new subspecies may help preserve declining populations that were previously ignored because they lacked a clear taxonomic status”
At the same time, biologists intend to return to scientific use the concept of “subspecies”, which, due to the lack of a clear definition, has been less and less used by scientists around the world over the last decade.
According to experts, the “subspecies” should be considered as “reliably different but genetically compatible lineages within a species.”
In addition, scientists explain that the history of the existence of populations that at least in some way differ from others contributes to the devaluation of the concept of “species”, which will lead to a constant change in the number of many species. Scientists believe that the revival of the concept of “subspecies” will help stabilize the principles of classification of living organisms.
It should be noted that the results of the scientific research were funded by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) and were published in the journal PNAS.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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