Ecotype
An ecotype is an organism that possesses genetically fixed structural and functional adaptations to a particular set of local environmental conditions. These adaptations become specific enough that ecotypes cannot reproduce viable offspring with other ecotypes of the same species. Because ecotypes reflect the prevailing environmental conditions, they allow scientists to study how organisms can relate to their environmental settings.
Ecotypes exist in discrete populations, which generally have a limited range. The encroachment of civilization and the destruction of habitat have put many ecotypes at risk for extinction, partially due to their limited number. Distinct ecotypes develop over time when particular members of a species cannot interbreed because of separations in time or distance. Genetic analysis demonstrates that ecotypes have distinctly different alleles due to the distinct environmental pressures each ecotype endures.
That is, these individuals have adapted to their particular environment through genetic changes. These modifications are such that the distinct ecotypes, while still technically the same species, can no longer interbreed. Ecotypes have been surrounded in controversy during the recent past because there is a push in many circles to retain as many populations of ecotypes as possible.
Many scientists argue that there is value in the protection of ecotypes. Scientists and conservationists stress man's duty to preserve as many of these populations as possible, in part, because man often put the population at risk in the first place. Additionally, the potential utility of a lost species to man or its individual ecosystem is lost with the end of the ecotype. Others contend that the destruction of ecotypes is a natural occurrence, and that attempts to salvage each distinct form interferes with natural selection. The destruction and protection of ecotypes is a complicated issue, with political action groups sometimes seeking to add political agendas to scientific argument.
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