AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -According to the most widely used species definition, the biological species concept, a species is a group of organisms that can potentially interbreed, or mate, with one another to produce viable, fertile offspring. In this definition, members of the same species must have the potential to interbreed.

Detailed explanation-2: -Organisms are grouped into species partly according to their morphological, or external, similarities, but more important in classifying sexually reproducing organisms is the organisms’ ability to successfully interbreed.

Detailed explanation-3: -A species is defined as a group of individuals that, in nature, are able to mate and produce viable, fertile offspring.

Detailed explanation-4: -All species must reproduce to survive. Organisms cannot live forever, so they must reproduce to allow their species to continue to live on. Reproduction is nature’s way of allowing a species to survive. A male and a female of a species mate in order to pass their genetic information on to their offspring.

Detailed explanation-5: -The most commonly accepted and taught definition of a species is “a population or group of populations whose members have the potential to interbreed in nature and produce viable, fertile offspring, but do not produce viable, fertile offspring with members of other such groups” (Campbell, 2008).