On 14 July 2011 15:18, Nico Cellinese ncellinese@flmnh.ufl.edu wrote:
Populations and metapopulations are real entities but subspecies is definitively an artificial concept. Now that is I deed an opinion!
I don't know the difference between a geographically defined subspecies and a meta-meta population. Do you define them differently? I believe (sic!) you can define either either exact or poorly.
But aren't individuals populations taxa etc etc all biologicalEntities?
Yes, but so, I believe, are ecosystems, organelles, enzymes, and probably much more. Also, crucially, the term and concept sought here seeks to exclude taxa, while you include it into your list.
In my thinking taxa classify individuals or populations. Without objects that they classify, they don't make (biological) sense. That is why I proposed (past tense) this term, but with widespread opposition it is not a good term.
LifeInstances - why not? Or IndividualOrPopulation?
Gregor