basic concepts Flashcards
what are the basic elements of a tree?
what is a phylogenetic tree?
distinguish between cladograms, phylograms, and chronograms
in what way is a tree a simplification of a more complex evolutionary process?
how does a monophyletic group (clade) differ from a non-monophyletic group (paraphtyletic group or polyphyletic group)
what is a synapomorphy? why are monophyletic groups characterized by synapomorphies?
explain how an attribute (character) that is an ancestral state in one context can be a derived state in another context.
understand why the synapomorphy of a clade is an ancestral state within that clade
distinguish between convergence, reversal, and homology
what is the relationship between phylogeny and classifcation?
define the following sister groups, ingroups, and outgroups
understand why branch rotation does not change meaning of the tree. be able to determine if two trees are equivalent
understand the concept of phylogenetic relatedness
what do we mean when we say that taxon A is more closely related to taxon B than to taxon C
it indicates that taxon A and taxon B share a more recent common ancestor than taxon A and taxon C
