> I'm trying to get a copy of his research. I am particularly interestested in
> Dr. Cashner's study regarding the selection of his samples. Were the samples
> taken from one location or throughout the geographical range of the organism.
> I would suspect some variation in genetic markers between the different
> geographic populations. Are the samples of "blairae" pooled or was a single
> population used as the Type population.
>
> This whole dicussion is what makes science fun!
John,
I'm glad you think this is fun! So do I!
Unless something much more recent has been published that I don't know
about, I presume that Cashner paper in question is "Phylogentic Studies of
the Genus Fundulus," which appeared in the 1992 book *Systematics,
Historical Ecology, and North American Freshwater Fishes*.
In their analysis of the subgenus Zygonectes, Cashner et. al. write that an
analysis of allozymic data unambiguously supports four distinct taxa...
F. escambiae
F. lineolatus
F. notti
F. blairae + F. dispar
...and that fixed allelic or significant genotype frequency differences were
not observed between populations of F. blairae and F. dispar.
Nevertheless, F. blairae is still regarded as a full species by every list
and resource I've checked (e.g., CAS Catalog of Fishes, AKA Killifish Master
Index), including the upcoming AFS list, which usually serves as the
standard that other journals and institutions follow.
If you'd like a copy of the Cashner paper, the book is widely available. Or
I can photocopy it and send it to you.
Chris Scharpf
Baltimore
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