connotation difference between "have debated" and "have been debating"

Question

It is said that the present perfect continuous tense is used to:

1. describe the duration of an ongoing action;
2. emphasize the effect of a recent action on the present.

However, I have also seen the present perfect tense used when the duration of an action is described such as:

During the past 50 years, scholars have debated the size of indigenous populations in North America

Then is there any difference in connotation between this and:

During the past 50 years, scholars have been debating the size of indigenous populations in North America

Answer 1

have debated suggests, though not strongly, that the debate has finished, and a conclusion reached.

have been debating is the opposite - it implies that the debate has NOT concluded, and that there has not yet been agreement on the outcome.