Models in Phylogeny Reconstruction

by Scotland, Robert W.; Siebert, Darrell J.; Williams, David M.

• ISBN13: 9780198548249
• ISBN10: 0198548249
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-01-19
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

Phylogenetic reconstruction--the method by which biologists examine the relationship between living and extinct organisms in an effort to identify evolutionary pathways--has seen radical changes in the last ten years. But as rapid advances in mathematical, molecular, developmental, and cladistic techniques have greatly improved reconstruction efforts, they have also sparked controversy, especially with regard to the assumptions and data underlying the cladistic method. This book brings together contributions from a wide range of practitioners in order to find common ground. By examining numerous models from a variety of fields, the book serves as a guide to the latest methods of classification and phylogeny reconstruction and provides insights into the relative merits that each approach has to offer. In particular, developmental studies emerge as a significant factor in cladogram construction. Splendidly written and wide-ranging in scope, Models in Phylogeny Reconstruction will be welcomed by students and researchers in systematic and evolutionary biology.

Table of Contents

The Lessons of History

Explanation, Description, and the Meaning of 'Transformation' in Taxonomic Evidence

Species and History

Models, Modules, and Molecules in Morphogenesis

Partial Truths: A Review of the Use of Concepts in the Evolutionary Sciences

Morphogenetic Cascades, Genetic Forms, and Taxonomy

Rational Taxonomy and the Natural System as Exemplified by Segmentation and Phyllotaxis

Methods for Rooting Cladistic Trees

Ontogeny, Rooting, and Polarity

Null or Minimal Models

Three-Item Consensus: Empirical Test of Fractional Weighting

The Role of Models in Reconstructing Evolutionary Trees

An Empirical Example of Parsimony Behavior

DNA Characters and Cladistics: The Optimization of Functional History

Intraspecific Phylogenetics: Problems and Solutions

Estimating Evolutionary Rates for Discrete Characters

Inferring Evolutionary Processes from Molecular Phylogenies

Cladograms and Trees in Biodiversity

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.