Why is a species hard to define?
1 Answer
It is hard to define a species because it is hard to determine when a population of organism can or can not reproduce.
Explanation:
The definition of a species is a group of organisms that can reproduce with each other.
Some groups of organisms normally do not reproduce with each other but under different environments or conditions can reproduce.
There are many examples. There are two groups of squirrels on either sides of the grand canyon. At one time it most likely that these were an interbreeding population. The grand canyon as separated the squirrels so that they no longer interbreed. There are distinct phenotype differences between the two populations. These two populations are presently considered two species but if brought together the squirrels can interbreed.
Darwin Finches are consider to be 13 different species because they occupy different niches on the islands. However hybridization has been frequently observed where members of one species has interbreed with members of another species.
In wild animal parks Lions an Tigers interbreed. In the wild these are considered to be separate species.
Determining if two population can interbreed or not makes the definition of a species difficult.
