
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Keast, Allen 
T1  - Intraspecific Variation Studies in Australian Birds, Subspecies, Isolates and Ultrataxon Concepts: How Close Are We to a Final Designation of Forms?
JF  - Emu
JO  - EMU
Y1  - 2000
VL  - 100
IS  - 4
SP  - 324
EP  - 328
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/MU0020 
N2  - Here I: (i) briefly review of the history of the subspecies concept inAustralia; and (ii) use the new Schodde-MasonDirectory of Australian Passerine Birds as the vehicle,to ask if we have now reached a reasonable finality in defining and naming ofgeographic forms (sub-species) in Australian birds. I do this by testing the Schodde &#38; Mason (1999) conclusions against the findings of previousworkers. There is good agreement for differentiated, isolated populations ofspecies (e.g. those inhabiting Tasmania and southwestern Australia). Widelydistributed species, subject to multiple and varying selection pressures indifferent parts of their range, and where variation cannot be expected to comein tidy packages, remain a problem. I conclude that the authors have done agood job in designating and naming geographic variation and forms throughout.No two workers, of course, will completely agree on the level of distinctnessthat merits a name. The Schodde-Mason volume provides an excellent basis for future distributional and molecular studies.v 
ER  -

