What Species Mean: A User’s Guide to the Units of Biodiversity

Chapter 1 Introduction.
Chapter 2 General Concepts.
Chapter 3 Everyone Uses Species.
The Advantages of Understanding Species.
Putting Names to Faces.
Identity Politics: When Species Matter to Us
How to Identify Differentness.
Differences of Opinion with Consequences.
How to Separate Species.
Species Criteria.
Everyone Uses Species.
References.
Chapter 4 Why Do the Names Keep Changing?.
To Improve Is to Change.
Colonialism, Revision, and the Type Concept.
Taxonomic Surrogacy
Names Carry Important Information.
How Do Names Change and How Can You Tell What Happened?.
Species Novelty and Reclassification.
The Type Concept Revisited.
Revision End Game.
References.
Chapter 5 Species Are Units of Evolution.
Variation.
Plasticity and Adaptation.
Selection and Sufficiency in the Moment.
Microevolution and Macroevolution.
Experimental Approaches.
Macroevolution and Species Identity.
References.
Chapter 6 Natural Patterns in Classification.
Frames of Reference.
Taxonomy and Systematics.
The Linnaean System.
Relativism and Regulation.
Tree Thinking.
The Problem with Paraphyly (Part 1: Genera).
The Application of Ranks.
The Problem with Paraphyly (Part 2: A higher problem).
Ranks and Communication.
References.
Chapter 7 Are Species Real?.
Background.
Species Metaphysics.
From Aristotle to the Origin.
The Modern Synthesis and Beyond.
Species ‘Concepts’ Are Lines of Evidence.
Species in Time.
Total Evidence and the New Pluralism.
The Species Category.
Species Are Real; Species Descriptions Are Hypotheses.
References.
Chapter 8 How to Name a Species.
Who Are the Makers of Names?.
Pronunciation.
Writing and Syntax.
Endings and Name Changes.
Plural and Singular.
Integrity and Humility.
History and the Role of Collections.
A Step-by-Step Guide.
References.
Chapter 9 Biodiversity and Extinction through Time.
Extinction Is a Natural Part of Evolution.
Living ‘Fossils’ Are Still Evolving.
Extinct Species Outnumber Living Species.
Fossils Fill the Gaps.
Is Diversity on Earth Decreasing?
References.
Chapter 10 How Many Species Are There?.
The Great Global Census.
Under-Studied Taxa.
Approaches to Estimating Global Species Richness.
Why Is this Problem so Hard?.
The Importance of Higher Ranks.
If It Doesn’t Have a Name, It Doesn’t Exist.
How Many Species Are Still Undiscovered?.
References.
Chapter 11 Dynamic Patterns in Biodiversity.
What Determines Biodiversity Patterns?.
Impacts of the Very Recent Past.
Impacts of Invasive Species.
The Latitudinal Diversity Gradient.
Biogeographic Patterns and ‘Rules’.
Life Is Resilient.
References.
Chapter 12 Translating Biodiversity across Cultural Barriers.
Makers and Users of Species Names.
Misconception: Taxonomy is done by ‘someone else’.
Misconception: Taxonomy is easy now, because you can just sequence things
Misconception: Taxonomic papers never get cited
Misconception: Biodiversity is well-known.
Geographic and Cultural Divides
Quantifying Species Richness.
Taxonomy Is Scientific Infrastructure.
International Law, Biodiversity, and Benefit Sharing.
International Law and the Movement of Specimens.
The Fallacy of Economics.
Cultural Ownership of Biodiversity.
References.
Species and Systematics.
Index.