How do we know the taxonomists are right in calling the dusky a separate subspecies?
Subspecies designations are not arbitrary but represent distinct grouping of wildlife species. Dusky Canada geese all nest in one isolated area, the Copper River Delta in Alaska, and share common characteristics including size and color. Isolation of this sort will often lead to subspeciation, as it has in the case of the dusky. Subspeciation gradually leads to speciation through genetic isolation. Therefore by looking at the DNA one can determine how distinct a subspecies is from another. While few taxonomists doubt the appropriateness of the classification, genetic studies recently confirmed the existence of the subspecies.
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- How do we know the taxonomists are right in calling the dusky a separate subspecies?
