Tamara writes:
Quetzal, she feels that the repro isolation definition of species is useful for mammals and birds. But with Dobzhansky's flies, what they had was a weird anomaly, if I recall correctly: 2 genetically identical populations that could not interbreed. I will post more if I find it.
Please do! I'm interested, but sceptical. My head is on the block here, but I suspect that you have misremembered something, or omitted some important details. What does genetically identical mean here anyway? Hell, even you and I are not genetically identical. I see no problem with the notion that in unusual circumstances a comparatively small amount of genetic change would be sufficient to prevent interbreeding. Dobzhansky died in 1975. He was certainly a pioneering geneticist; but genome sequencing has come a long way since his time.
Cheers -- Sylas
[This message has been edited by Sylas, 02-27-2004]
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