S26.Summary: Species concepts in ornithology
Robert Zink1 & Timothy Crowe2
1J. F. Bell Museum, 100 Ecology Building, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA, e-mail rzink@biosci.cbs.umn.edu; 2Percy Fitzpatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, South Africa, e-mail tmcrowe@botzoo.uct.ac.za
Zink, R. & Crowe, T. 1999. Species concepts in ornithology. In: Adams, N.J. & Slotow, R.H. (eds) Proc. 22 Int. Ornithol. Congr., Durban: 1469. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa.Ornithologists have been important contributors to the debate about species concepts. Today, several diverse positions are held by ornithologists as to which species concept should be applied to birds. In this symposium, most major theoretical paradigms are expressed, that of the biological species concept (Johnson, Remsen, and Cicero), the recognition concept (Ferguson), a species-as-multifaceted entities concept (Crowe) and the phylogenetic species concept (Navarro and Peterson; Zink). These presentations reveal that the species concept debate is extremely vigorous today, and that the species concept chosen influences interpretation of most research projects in ornithology. Clearly, a consensus among ornithologists is not at hand, with different worldviews being argued strenuously.