Hi

Syntopic refers to populations or species that occupy the same habitat and
are close together, and so could interbreed. Sympatric refers to populations
or species that are in the same geographical area. The two terms can be
(sort of!) considered to be used to describe the same thing, but at
different scales: syntopic at habitat scale, sympatric at geographical
scale. But to complicate things with the term sympatry, you can also have
biotic sympatry (populations occupy same habitat) and neighbouring sympatry
(where the populations occupy different habitats) but at the geogaphical
scale.

-----Original Message-----
From: Conchologists of America List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of aydin
Sent: 30 November 2004 17:24
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: syntopic vs sympatric


This is how Mayr (Populations, Species and Evolution, 1970)
defines "sympatry": "The occurrence of 2 or more populations in the same
area; more precisely, the existence of a population in breeding condition
within the crusising range of individuals of another population."

If this is what sympatric means, then what does syntopic mean? I still
don't get it. I have a feeling the 2 terms are used interchangeably by
different people.

Aydin

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 23:58:36 +1300, Andrew Grebneff
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Two species living together in the same habitat are sympatric. They
>may not share the same microhabitat, but can readily meet in their
>daily/nocturnal rounds.
>--
>Andrew Grebneff
>Dunedin
>New Zealand
>Fossil preparator
><[log in to unmask]>
>Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut
>

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