User:Jbadcock/sandbox
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In biology, a cline (from the Greek “klinein”, meaning “to lean”) is a measurable gradient in a single character (or biological trait) of a species across its geographical range[1]. First coined by Julian Huxley in 1938, the “character” of the cline referred to is usually genetic (e.g allele frequency, blood type), or phenotypic (e.g. body size, skin pigmentation). Clines can show smooth, continuous gradation in a character, or they may show more abrupt changes in the trait from one geographic region to the next[2].
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A cline refers to a spatial gradient in a specific, singular trait, rather than a gradient in a population as a whole [3]. A single population can therefore theoretically have as many clines as it has traits[4]. Additionally, Huxley recognised that these multiple independent clines may not act in concordance with each other. For example, it has been observed that in Australia, birds generally become smaller the further towards the north of the country they are found. In contrast, the intensity of their plumage colouration follows a different geographical trajectory, being most vibrant where humidity is highest and becoming less vibrant further into the arid centre of the country [5]. Because of this, clines were defined by Huxley as being an “auxiliary taxonomic principle”; that is, clinal variation in a species is not awarded taxonomic recognition in the way subspecies or species are[1].
While the terms “ecotype” and “cline” are sometimes used interchangeably, they do in fact differ in that “ecotype” refers to a population which differs from other populations in a number of characters, rather than the single character that varies amongst populations in a cline [4].