Lab 4: Evolutionary Relationships Flashcards
1
Q
What is Phylogenetic Systematics?
A
attempts to determine:
- evolutionary pathways
- what degree of species are related
- what ancestors may have looked like
2
Q
What is Phylogeny?
A
The evolutionary history of organisms over time
3
Q
What is Characters?
A
are any features or attributes of an organism that form the basis for comparisons.
4
Q
What are Character States?
A
are alternative forms of a character
5
Q
What is a Cladogram?
A
a tree-like diagram that illustrates the sequence of evolutionary events that occurred in the lineages making up the ingroup.
6
Q
What is a monophyletic group?
A
all descended from a common ancestor
7
Q
What is parsimonious?
A
Parsimony is the scientific preference for explanations that are as simple as possible.
