Guidelines and quantitative standards to improve consistency in cetacean subspecies and species delimitation relying on molecular genetic data

Taylor, Barbara L; Archer, Frederick I; Martien, Karen K; Rosel, Patricia E; Hancock-Hanser, Brittany L; Lang, Aimee R; Leslie, Matthew S; Mesnick, Sarah L; Morin, Phillip A; Pease, Victoria L; Perrin, William F; Robertson, Kelly M; Parsons, Kim M; Viricel, Amélia; Vollmer, Nicole L; Cipriano, Frank; Reeves, Randall R; Krützen, Michael; Baker, C Scott

doi:10.1111/mms.12411

Citations

Citation copied

Taylor, B. L., Archer, F. I., Martien, K. K., Rosel, P. E., Hancock-Hanser, B. L., Lang, A. R., Leslie, M. S., Mesnick, S. L., Morin, P. A., Pease, V. L., Perrin, W. F., Robertson, K. M., Parsons, K. M., Viricel, A., Vollmer, N. L., Cipriano, F., Reeves, R. R., Krützen, M., & Baker, C. S. (2017). Guidelines and quantitative standards to improve consistency in cetacean subspecies and species delimitation relying on molecular genetic data. Marine Mammal Science, 33(S1), 132–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12411

Abstract

Taxonomy is an imprecise science that delimits the evolutionary continuum into discrete categories. For marine mammals, this science is complicated by the relative lack of morphological data for taxa that inhabit remote and often vast ranges. We provide guidelines to promote consistency in studies relying primarily on molecular genetic data to delimit cetacean subspecies from both populations and species. These guidelines identify informational needs: basis for the taxonomic hypothesis being tested, description of current taxonomy, de