Week5 Draft2

Speciation is a concept created by humans to organize life, but nature exists as it is without need to be understood. The concept of a species can therefore, be defined in a variety of ways. A few common ways that species are understood by humans include the biological concept, the morphological, phylogenetic, and ecological concepts. The biological concept defines a species as a group of organisms that can produce fertile and viable offspring, but excludes asexual species, extinct species, and species that create viable and fertile offspring. The morphological concept defines species as having similar development and morphology (shape). Phylogenetic concept tracks the genetic evolutionary relationships between the species. The ecological species defines species by their niches. The different concepts help to understand species, but they are often imperfect and cannot include all life in the categories that humans have created.