DiscoverThe Joy of WhyWhy Is It So Hard to Define a Species?
Why Is It So Hard to Define a Species?

Why Is It So Hard to Define a Species?

Update: 2024-10-24
Share

Description

The “species” category is almost certainly the best known of all the taxonomic classifications that biologists use to organize life’s vast diversity. It’s a linchpin of both conservation policy and evolutionary theory, though in practice biologists have struggled to find a definition that works across the natural world. 

In this episode, Kevin de Queiroz, a zoologist and evolutionary biologist, talks with host Janna Levin about the variety of ways to conceive of a species, and ways to understand the relationships among living things.

Comments 
00:00
00:00
x

0.5x

0.8x

1.0x

1.25x

1.5x

2.0x

3.0x

Sleep Timer

Off

End of Episode

5 Minutes

10 Minutes

15 Minutes

30 Minutes

45 Minutes

60 Minutes

120 Minutes

Why Is It So Hard to Define a Species?

Why Is It So Hard to Define a Species?

Steven Strogatz, Janna Levin and Quanta Magazine