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SYSTEMATICS AND ECOLOGY OF RAIN FOREST TREES
Author(s) -
Ashton Peter S.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
taxon
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1996-8175
pISSN - 0040-0262
DOI - 10.2307/1221104
Subject(s) - edaphic , ecology , biology , sympatric speciation , outbreeding depression , pollination , interspecific competition , phenology , range (aeronautics) , systematics , geography , pollen , taxonomy (biology) , population , materials science , demography , sociology , soil water , composite material , inbreeding
Summary The case is made that ecological characteristics can provide valuable evidence for species delimitation in complex floras such as those of tropical rain forests. Differences between sympatric populations of morphologically similar entities in such aspects as edaphic range, reproductive phenology, pollination biology, combined with evidence for outbreeding, and for interspecific hybridization in nature assist in evaluating whether such entities behave as biological species. Current evidence on the biological nature of rain forest tree species is discussed.