BIOL 336 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Phylogenetic Tree, Synapomorphy, Sister Group
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Lecture #2: to interpret a phylogenetic tree, showing an understanding of its clades, implied relationships and ancestry. Sometimes tips are whole groups, not just one species. Everything on the root to tip is the tip"s ancestor. Do not assume any living species is more (cid:498)evolved(cid:499) than any other. Don"t need to count # of clades. Is the y-axis is time, then just look at which. Terminal taxa are (cid:498)evolutionary cousins(cid:499) -> do not have ancestor/descendant. Lineages that share more recent common ancestor are more closely related. All extant (living) species alive today have had the same amount of time to evolve. Longer branches does not indicate more volutionary change. Mrca is more recent in time. relationship: to use properly the basic vocabulary describing phylogenetic trees. Monophyletic group = clade: ancestor + all descendants. Homoplasy: character state similarly not due to shared descent (ex.
