Talk:Ring species

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Can someone comment on the following : The herring gull is not a ring species We may have to change our example.

From the abstract, it looks like the paper is just saying that the ring isn't closed: "Contrary to the ring-species model, we find no genetic evidence for a closure of the circumpolar ring through colonization of Europe by North American herring gulls. However, closure of the ring in the opposite direction may be imminent, with lesser black-backed gulls about to colonize North America." My ill-informed guess is that the phrase 'ring species' is used loosely by some and strictly by others. The title of the paper is amusingly ironic in the context of the wiki article, though. Kaleja 06:34, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

"Ring species" is a term used mostly in zoological circles, but there are apparently no examples of "ring species" in the strict sense in studied vertebrates. Ensatina & Phylloscopus are almost certainly not ring species. In Ensatina, the "ring" formed by the Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges, and Transverse Ranges in California apparently has a permeable center, with salamanders able to cross the Central Valley (at least historically). In Phylloscopus, the data suggest an eastern and western clade that have both relatively recently colonized both the supposed ancestral area and the supposed re-contact zone. The term persists in zoological literature because the concept is "sexy" rather than because it has empirical applicability or relevance. There may be plant examples, but if so they are rare. --Patrick Alexander (too lazy to login)