Showing posts with label Vocabulary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vocabulary. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Congeners and conspecificity

Congeners refer to organisms belonging to the same genus or species.

For two individuals to be conspecific, it means that they are from the same species.
Antonym: heterospecific

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congener
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspecific

Syntopic

To be syntopic means to be sharing the same habitat as another species and within their geographic range.

Reference:
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/glossary.php?entry_name=Syntopic

Allopatric speciation

Allopatric speciation, may also be referred to as geographic speciation, whereby populations of individuals are separated by a barrier and evolved such that when the barrier breaks down, these two groups no longer have the ability to interbreed.

"Allo" = other
"patra" = fatherland

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopatric_speciation