AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Definition. Species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups.

Detailed explanation-2: -Ernst Mayr defined species as a population of interbreeding individuals reproductively isolated from other populations.

Detailed explanation-3: -Reproductive isolation is a condition of speciation and the primary criterion of the biological species concept. In the well-known Ernst Mayr’s definition, “species are groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other such groups” (Mayr, 1942).

Detailed explanation-4: -A species is a group of populations which are capable of interbreeding.

Detailed explanation-5: -The biological species concept defines a species as members of populations that actually or potentially interbreed in nature, not according to similarity of appearance. Although appearance is helpful in identifying species, it does not define species.