Phenetic vs Phylogenetic

Classification

 Process of arranging taxa into groups of accordance with a plan and in conformity with a naming
system
 Biological classification
o A process carried out in order to communicate certain interrelationships of organisms

Function/ Purpose

 Information storage & retrieval

 Reflect nature
 Easy to use
 Stable
 Predictive
 Concise

Linnaeus and Classification

Carolus Linnaeus- designed our hierarchical classification scheme

- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species

I. Phenetic Classification
 The grouping of taxa on the basis of their overall similarity
o The more features two taxa share, the more likely they will be put in the same group
o Any feature can provide information for a classification

1.a Artificial Classification

>ancient phonetic system

> based on a limited number of characters

>a priori classification

- the characters are selected first, then the taxa are analyzed and grouped based on the criteria
selected

Early classification systems- Artificial

- Based on habit and/or characteristics important to humans (i.e medicines, food)

Examples:

- Theophrastus
o Habit (i.e tree, shrub); cultivated and wild kinds;annual, perennial and biennial life
cycles; superior vs. inferior ovaries; determinate vs.indeterminate; and distinct vs.
connate petals
- Linnaeus
o Stamen number with style number

1.b Natural Classifications

>more recent phonetic systems

> makes use of many different characters

- the taxa are studied, data are recorded and the similarities and differences are used to allow
the taxa to order themselves “naturally”

>a posteriori classification

- the groupings are made after the features are observed

1.c Numerical Taxonomy

>computerized phonetic systems

> use of comupters to study large data sets and determine the similarity of the taxa in a critical
unbiased manner.

- computer calculates the similarity for every pair of taxa then plots a phenogram (based on a
cluster analysis) that shows the similarity between the taxa

> popularized by Robert Sokal and Peter Sneath

Three important assumptions:

 The greater the amount of information for a taxon, the greater the strength of the classification
 Every character gets equal weighing
 Classification is based on overall similarities in the taxa
Method

 Select taxa
 Select characters
 Estimate similarity
 Create phenogram (groups constructed)
 Interpret results

Advantages

- Reproducible
- Greater predictive value than other phonetic classifications
- Objective and free from bias
- Integrate data from many sources
- Can handle large amounts of data

Disadvantages

- Doesn’t really account for evolutionary change

- Convergent evolution
o Two species exposed to same selection pressures share similar features
o
o
 o

II. Phylogenetic Classification

 Characters are analyzed in a way that detects their evolutionary development
o Phylogeny is the eveolutionary history of a species or group of related species
 Synonyms
o Phylogenetic systematics; Cladistics

Phylogeny

 Phylogenies are inferred by identifying characters that vary among species

 These characters can be:
o Morphological
o Chromosomal
o Molecular
o Behavioral or ecological
 o

 Phylogenetic diagram (tree)
o Also called a cladogram
 Cladogram depicts patterns of shared characteristics among taxa
o If shared characteristics are homologous thus, it is explained by common ancestry
 Each branch in the tree is called a clade
o A group of species that includes an ancestral species and all its descendants
When constructing a cladogram…

 The greater the number of homologous parts between two organisms, the more closely related
they are
 Homologous characters
o Are shared characters that result from common ancestry
 The classification scheme must reflect these similarities

Analogous characters
 Similarity between two species due to convergent evolution rather than to descent from a
common ancestor with the same trait
 Convergent evolution
o The independent evolution of a similar feature in two or more lineage
o Occurs when a similar environmental pressures and natural selection produce similar
(analogous) adaptations in organisms from different evolutionary lineages
 Also called homoplasies/homoplasy
Plesiomorphic Vs Apomorphic

Plesiomorphic character

 Ancestral or primitive character

o Symplesiomorphy
 Shared primitive characteristics
 Homologous characters that are shared by more than one taxon
 E.g. backbone is shared by mammals and reptiles
 Do not provide useful information for forming of nested series of clades

Apomorphy

 Derived or advance character

 Kinds:
o Synapomorphy
 Shared derived characters
 A new evolutionary feature that is unique for a particular clade
 Most useful for determining evolutionary relationships
o Autapomorphy

A derived character that occur in a single lineage

Cladistic analysis and Classification:

Kinds of Groups

Monophyletic group

Includes a common ancestor and all of its descendents

- Represents a valid clade

Paraphyletic group

Includes a common ancestor and some but not all of its descendents
Polyphyletic group

A group whose members do not share a recent common ancestor

 Phylogenetic classification recognizes only monophyletic groups
 Paraphyletic and polypheletic groups distort the accurate portrayal of eveolutionary history
and should be rejected