BIO 122 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Conservation Biology, Synapomorphy, Grou
15 Apr 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
2 tools to retrace history: phylogenetic trees, fossil records. Phylogenetic trees have revolutionized the study of evolution. Can be used in taxonomy to define species. Can be used to examine the transmission of viruses between species. An outgroup is used establish whether a trait is ancestral or derived. An ancestral trait is a characteristic that existed in an ancestor. A derived trait is one that is a modified form of the ancestral trait, found in a descendant. Is based on reconstructing relationships among species by identifying synapomorphies. Synapomorphies are traits found in two or more taxa that are present in their most recent common ancestor but not more distant ancestors. Diverged before the taxa, closely related but not aprt of any species. Help w monophyletic groups also called clades or lineages. Parsimony states that the most likely explanation or pattern is the one that implies the least amount of change. Homology occurs when traits are similar due to shared ancestry.
