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
38
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
Not Given
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/oaVO777K
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
Advertisement:Ourcompetitors’computersalespeoplearepaidaccordingtothevalueoftheproductstheysell,sotheyhaveaf
Shirla:Infigureskatingcompetitionsthatallowamateurandprofessionalskaterstocompeteagainsteachother,theprofession
Therearefundamentallytwopossiblechangesinaneconomythatwilleachcauseinflationunlessothercompensatingchangesalso
Thefinalquarterofthenineteenthcenturymarkedaturningpointinthehistoryofbiology—biologistsbecamelessinterestedi
ThefollowingappearedaspartofanarticleinaDilltonnewspaper."InanefforttobringnewjobstoDilltonandstimulateth
RESULTSONAHISTORYTEST*ArithmeticmeanTheaverage(arithmeticmean)scoreforallofthestudentsinthe3classesis
Thegreatleadersofthesecondworldwaralliance,FranklinRooseveltandWinstonChurchill,understoodtheopposingforcesof
Manypoliticiansarecharacterizedbyaninconsistencyofplatformduringcrises,totheextentthattheyarerarely______enco
Manynutritionists,havingknownfordecadesthatsaturatedfat,foundinabundanceinredmeatanddairyproducts,raise
Hopingtopreservenaturalhabitats,conservationistslobbiesforlegislationthatwould______commercialdevelopmentinthese
随机试题
简述国际贸易术语的基本作用。
可选用非同步电复律的心律失常是
毕I式胃大部切除术的特点是
某公司2014年10月发生下列业务:(1)将1栋办公楼对外出租,每月租金收入20000元,共收取半年的租金120000元。(2)代销福利彩票取得手续费收入20000元。(3)该公司所属商店(小规模纳税人)销售商品取得销售收入价税合计61800元,购进
E注册会计师负责对X公司2009年度财务报表进行审计。在获取和评价审计证据时,E注册会计师遇到下列事项,请代为做出正确的专业判断。X公司于2010年3月15日公布了该公司2009年度财务报表,在E注册会计师获知的以下事项中,需要对2009年度财务报表采
在北京召开的河南进京务工人员座谈会上,省委书记、省人大常委会主任卢展工盛赞河南进京务工人员是普普通通的河南人,踏踏实实的河南人,不畏艰难的河南人。侠肝义胆的河南人。他们的经历充分体现了平凡之中的伟大追求、平静之中的满腔热血、平常之中的极强烈责任感的“三平”
网站更多地扮演平台角色,吸引各类商家入驻,再由商家提供服务,这种C2C模式虽然带来了量大面广的商家,但也难免_______,淘宝号称“万能”,但是假货问题也如影随形,在中国和美国都遭到了越来越多的质疑。后来阿里巴巴也不得不_______,成立了对小微卖家说
转化型抢劫
水泥的原料是很便宜的,像石灰石和随处可见的泥土都可以用作水泥的原料。但水泥的价格会受石油价格的影响,因为在高温炉窑中把原料变为水泥要耗费大量的能源。基于上述断定最可能得出以下哪项结论?
DearSir/Madam,Inresponsetoyouradvertisementinyesterday’sTimeEducationalSupplement,Iwouldliketoapplyforthe
最新回复
(
0
)