首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Spot the difference A Taxonomic history has been made this week, at least according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a conserv
Spot the difference A Taxonomic history has been made this week, at least according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a conserv
admin
2011-01-14
48
问题
Spot the difference
A Taxonomic history has been made this week, at least according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a conservation group. Scientists have described a new species of clouded leopard from the tropical forests of Indonesia with spots (or "clouds", as they are poetically known) smaller than those of other clouded leopards, with fur a little darker and with a double, as opposed to a "partial double"—stripe down its back.
B However, no previously unknown beast has suddenly leapt out from the forest. Instead, some scientists have proposed a change In the official taxonomic accounting system of clouded leopards. Where there were four subspecies there will likely now be two species. A genetic analysis and a closer Inspection of museum specimens’ coats published in Current Biology has found no relevant difference between three subspecies described 50 years ago from continental Asia and from the Halnan and Taiwan islands. The 5000-11000 clouded leopards on Borneo, the 3000-7000 on Sumatra, and the remaining few on the nearby Batu Islands can now, the authors say, claim a more elevated distinction as a species.
C What this actually means is fuzzy and whether it is scientifically important is questionable. In any case, biologists do not agree what species and subspecies are. Creatures are given Latin first and second names (corresponding to a genus and species) according to the convention of Carl yon Llnné, who was born 300 years ago this May. But Linnaeus, as he Is more commonly known, thought of species as perfectly discrete units created by God. Darwinism has them as mutable things, generated gradually over time by natural selection. So delineating when enough variation has evolved to justify a new category is largely a matter of taste.
D Take ants and butterflies. Ant experts have recently been waging a war against all types of species subdivision. Lepidopterists, on the other hand, cling to the double barrel second names from their discipline’s 19th century tradition, and categorise many local subclasses within species found over wide areas. Thus it would be futile if one were so inclined—to attempt to compare the diversity of ant and butterfly populations.
E The traditional way around the problem is to call a species all members of a group that share the same gene pool. They can mate together and produce fertile offspring. Whether Indonesian clouded leopards can make cubs with continental ones remains unknown but seems probable. Instead, the claim this week is that genetics and slight differences In fur patterning are enough to justify re-branding the clouded leopard as two significant types. Genetically, that makes sense if many DNA variations correlate perfectly between members of the two groups. The authors did find some correlation, but they looked for it in only three Indonesian animals. A larger sample would have been more difficult.
F One thing Is abundantly clear: conservationists who are flying to stop the destruction of the leopards’ habitat in Borneo and Sumatra see the announcement of a new species of big cat as a means to gain publicity and political capital. Upgrading subspecies to species is a strategy which James Mallet, of University College London, likes to call species inflation. It is a common by-product of genetic analysis, which can reveal differences between populations that the eye cannot, Creating ever more detailed genetic categories means creating smaller and increasingly restricted populations of more species. The trouble is that risks devaluing the importance of the term species.
G The problem of redefining species by genetics is the creation of taxonomic confusion, a potentially serious difficulty for conservationists and others, Take for example the recent proposal to add the polar bear to the list of animals protected under America’s Endangered Species Act. That seems all well and good. However, study the genetics and it transpires that polar bears are closer to some brown bears, than some brown bears are to each other. Go by the genes and it seems that the polar bear would not count as a species in its own right (and thus might not enjoy the protection afforded to species) but should be labelled a sub-species of the brown bear.
*
选项
答案
B
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/1aVO777K
本试题收录于:
雅思阅读题库雅思(IELTS)分类
0
雅思阅读
雅思(IELTS)
相关试题推荐
Sixty-fivemillionyearsago,accordingtosomescientists,anasteroidbiggerthanMountEverestslammedintoNorthAmerica,wh
Advertisement:Today’scustomersexpecthighquality.Everyadvanceinthequalityofmanufacturedproductsraisescustomerexpe
Researchersconditionedagroupoffliestoassociateaparticularodorwithaweakelectricshock.Twenty-fourandforty-eight
RejectingitsargumentthattheMastersDogTrainingClub’sprimaryaimwastoteachpeopletotraindogs,thecourtruledthe
Muchofthehopeforcontinuedimprovementoftheeconomyliesintheprojectionofincreasingconsumerspendingthisyear.
LEAGUERESULTSTeamNumberofGamesWonA4B7C9D2E2X?Accordingt
Whileperformershavealwaysattemptedto______thefactthatpianoisfundamentallyapercussioninstrument,thatparticularp
A、ofteninhumaneandrarelynecessaryB、unrelatedtotheactualstudyofdiseasetaxonomyC、oftennecessarybutundesirableinc
PeriodicrealignmentoftheEarth’smagneticfieldoccurstwoways:thefirst,"fieldregeneration",orthecreationofn
Eventhoughthemayorwasnot______theargumentfortheproposal,shedecidedtoforgohervote.
随机试题
某一社区护士正在进行以“冬季老年人保健”为主题的讨论会。在组织讨论过程中,护士方法不恰当的是
A.心气大伤B.心气不足C.痰火扰心D.风痰阻络E.热扰心神郑声的病因多为
某段普通铁路增建二线工程,主要工程项目有路堑、路堤和桥梁。其中路堑段增建的二线铁路紧邻既有线,断面设计是对既有线靠山侧山体进行扩挖,最大开挖高度为10m,开挖体地质为强风化、中风化泥岩,主要支挡工程为抗滑桩;路堤大部分地段位于一水库上游,设计为单绕新建路堤
行业轮动介入时点的选择时应注意()。I.牛市和熊市是四个周期和三个杠杆的博弈和互动Ⅱ.有周期性就表明有可预测性Ⅲ.有杠杆,股价的波动浮动通常会较为剧烈Ⅳ.单纯的行业轮动的时机选择是较困难的,必须结合估值和品质
广义地说,决策是()。
学校、幼儿园、托儿所和公共场所发生突发事件时,应当优先救护()。
在听完一位成功的企业家讲课后,一些来自企业的学员感到有些失望,便问:“你讲那些内容我们也差不多知道,可为什么我们之间的差距会那么大呢?”这位企业家回答说:“那是因为你们仅仅是知道了,而我却做到了,这就是我们的差别。”这句话表明实践高于理论认识,因为实践具有
在需求开发中,完成()过程后将确定需求基线。
In the following essay, each blank has four choices. Choose the most suitable one from the four choices and write down in the an
Eachofushasabilities,whetherphysical,mentalorsocial.Whatmostofusdon’trealizeisthatteachingtheseskillstochi
最新回复
(
0
)