Chapter 26.1 Phylogeny and the Tree of Life Flashcards
(31 cards)
PHYLOGENY
The evolutionary history of a species or group of related species.
SYSTEMATICS
a discipline focused on classifying organisms and determining heir evolutionary relationships. Used by biologists to construct phylogenies.
Systematics use data ranging from fossils to molecules and genes to infer evolutionary relationships.
TAXONOMY
Scientific discipline that names and classifies organisms
BINOMIAL
Scientific naming (Genus species)
TAXON
a group within one of the hierarchical classification ( e.g.. domain , kingdom, phylum, class, order ,family , genus, species) ( Panthera is a taxon at he genus level)
HOMOLOGOUS STRUCTURES
structures in different species that are similar because of common ancestry
A PHYLOGENIC TREE REPRESENTS
The evolutionary history of a group of organisms. it represents a hypothesis about an evolutionary relationship
These relationships are depicted as BRANCH POINTS
. shows patterns of descent, not phylogeny.
BRANCH POINTS
depicts evolutionary relationships. Each branch point represents the divergence of two evolutionary lineage’s from a common ancestor.
SISTER TAXA
groups of organisms that share an immediate common ancestor
BASAL TAXON
refers to a lineage that diverges early in the history of a group. It lies on a branch that originates near the common ancestor of the group
POLYTOMY
a branch point from which more than two descendant groups emerge. A polygamy signifies the evolutionary relationships among the taxa are not yet clear.
EXTANT
living species
The length of the branch point indicate what
time
How are phylogenies inferred
from morphological and molecular data
. It is important to focus on features that result from common ancestry (homologies)
HOMOLOGIES
phenotypic and genetic similarities due to a common ancestry. similar structures different functions
ANALOGOUS
similarity due to convergent evolution. similar function different structure
CONVERGENT EVOLUTION
occurs when similar environmental pressures and natural selection produce similar adaptations in organism from different evolutionary lineages
HOMOPLASIES
analogous ( comparable) structures that arose independently
ways to tell homology from analogy
. corroborative similarities
. fossil evidence
. the complexity of the characters being compared ( the more elements that are similar in two complex structures, the more likely it is that they evolved from a common ancestor) including genes=molecular homologies
First 2 steps in reconstructing phylogenies
. distinguish homologous features from analogous ones ( since only homology reflect evolutionary history)
. then choose a method of inferring phylogeny from the homologous characters
CLADISTICS
an approach to systematics where common ancestry is the primary criterion used to classify organisms
CLADE
a group of species that includes an ancestral species and all of its descendants
MONOPHYLETIC ( single tribe) ( a Clade)
a group that consists of an ancestral species and all of its descendants
PARAPHYLETIC ( beside the tribe)
group which consists of an ancestral species and some but not all of its descendent