Perspectives on speciation
The process of speciation lies at the centre of evolutionary biology: speciation is an outcome of evolutionary forces operating within and among populations, and it provides the raw material for the generation of patterns of biological diversity at large temporal and spatial scales. As a result of this central position, many biologists have an interest in speciation but their points of view may be widely different. For example, to a population geneticist the problem is to understand the origin and accumulation of barriers to gene flow through the interaction of mutation, drift, selection, migration, and recombination. For the palaeontologist, the challenge is to document the appearance of new, morphologically defined lineages and to identify factors influencing rates of lineage splitting (and extinction). A macroecologist may be more interested in the way speciation rates contribute to the spatial or taxonomic distribution of biological diversity. In addition to differences in perspective based on disciplines, views of speciation may also differ depending on the taxonomic or methodological focus of researchers. Progress towards a comprehensive understanding of speciation is likely to be enhanced by tackling the topic from many different angles but, critically, it also requires the exchange of ideas and information among researchers with different perspectives.
