Distinguishing perceptual and conceptual levels of recognition at group boundaries

Communication is central to accomplishing the tasks of life, coordinating activities like mating, feeding, fighting, and flocking. To be successful, these tasks are often restricted to members of an individual’s own evolutionary lineage, or conspecifics. The ability to recognize conspecifics is often termed “species recognition.” Here, I summarize the difficulties associated with the concept of species recognition and describe a perceptual–conceptual framework for considering the processes by which organisms recognize members of a particular group. Recently published studies that focus on species recognition are highlighted and discussed in light of that framework, and I conclude by articulating open and fundamental questions that arise from challenging earlier notions of species recognition.