| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Brower, Andrew V. Z.
Total Authors: 1
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER; v. 78, n. 5, p. 380-384, MAY 2016. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 1 |
| Abstract | |
I offer comments on two recent articles in The American Biology Teacher by Davenport and colleagues addressing the interpretation and construction of phylogenetic trees. The ``tree-thinking{''} literature suggests that students need to acquire a clear understanding of the meaning of phylogenetic tree diagrams. To this end, I provide clarifications of terminology and address the problematical status of ``ancestors.{''} Cladograms are not genealogies viewed from a distance, but empirical hypotheses of relationship based on the distribution of shared derived character states. I describe an exercise employed in an introductory systematics course that emphasizes the empirical activities of character delimitation and formation of groups based on those characters. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 12/50260-6 - Structure and evolution of the Amazonian biota and its environment: an integrative approach |
| Grantee: | Lúcia Garcez Lohmann |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants |