Question

Tigers and lions inhabit different areas and different habitats. tigers live in forested areas in south east asia while lions inhabit open savannas in africa and south west asia. lions and tigers never mate in the wild because they are geographically and ecologically isolated. however, in the zoo, they can mate and produce viable offspring.
a.would you classify tigers and lions as the same species using the biological species concept, yes/no and explain what was the main factor in your decision.
b.would you classify tigers and lions as the same species using the ecological species concept, yes/no and explain what was the main factor in your decision.

Answer 1

a. I wouldn't classify them as the same species according to the biological species concept since this concept says that it requires animals to be able to breed in nature (lions and tigers occupy different regions).

b. Using the ecological speceis concept I would clasify lions and tigers as a same species since this concept requires animals to ocupy the same niche in their environmet (both are the top consumers in their respective environments).

Hope it helped,

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