Centres of origin

[Curtis Clark]

At 11:50 2002-04-18, Bernard Baum wrote:
>You need to distingusih between centre of origin and centre of diversity.
>The two are not the same. Centre of origin is mostly unknown, and is often
>not the current centre of diversity. To find genes of resistance you need
>to study and select from samples in the current centre of diversity.

And to add to this, the methodology for discovering the center of diversity
is straightforward (define the "diversity" that interests you, measure it,
and look for spatial modes), whereas center of origin is so theoretically
problematic (even for a "Darwinian" biogeographer, what if that land mass
no longer exists) that it's hard to imagine how one would discover it.


--
Curtis Clark                  http://www.csupomona.edu/~jcclark/
Biological Sciences Department             Voice: (909) 869-4062
California State Polytechnic University      FAX: (909) 869-4078
Pomona CA 91768-4032  USA                  jcclark at csupomona.edu