For novice biologists, taxonomy and phylogenetics are difficult concepts to understand and keep separate. This confusion is made worse because modern taxonomic methods make use of molecular tools. Write an essay that contrasts taxonomy to phylogenetics and explain how both disciplines are important to our understanding of species and evolution. Your essay should include a description of taxonomy and phylogenetics, as well as a detailed explanation about how information is represented in a phylogenetic tree or a cladogram. It may help you to frame your argument if you start by constructing a paragraph for yourself that says: "Before reading my paper, my reader will think X. After reading my paper, my reader will think y."

Need help what is the difference between a gene tree and a species tree? Explain in your own words how it is possible for gorillas and humans to share a genetic trait (such as a retroviral insertion) that chimpanzees do not share, if chimpanzees and humans are really each other's closest relatives. Given the lack of agreement between gene trees and species trees, how is it possible to reconstruct the true species tree?

Cladistics Exercise: The following is a chart demonstrating the shared derived traits among several clades of animals. The row across the top represents the animals, the column on the left represents a trait. An X in the box shows which animals have the particular trait, and which do not. Take out a piece of paper and draw a diagonal line. Then add the nodes and draw in which species drop off at each node. In other words, construct a cladogram for this chart. Then take a picture of the cladogram and upload it to complete this assignment. Chart of Traits and Species Rhesus Snapping Kangaroo Lamprey Bullfrog Human Tuna Monkey Turtle Dorsal Nerve Cord X X X Vertebral column X X Paired legs X Amniotic sac Mammary Glands Placenta Foramen magnum forward TOTALS of Xs 1 6 3 7 4 2 Amnion (a membrane that holds in the amniotic fluid surrounding the embryo; may or may not be inside an egg shell)

Please help to creating parsimonious treesFor the following DNA sequences determine the most parsimonious phylogeny. Tree ASpecies 1 AATTGCGGGATATATCGCGGGGAAATTTACGACTSpecies 2 AATGTCGGGATATATCGCGGGGAAATTTACGACTSpecies 3 AATTGCGGGATATATCGCGGGGAAATTTACGACT Tree BSpecies 1 AATTGCGGGATATATCGCGGGGAAATTTACGACTSpecies 2 AACTGCGGCATATATCGCGGGGAAATTAACGACTSpecies 3 AAGTGCGCCATATATCGCCCGGATAATTTCGAGA Tree CSpecies 1 CCGTATGACCGGGTATAAATCGCGCCCGGGATCTGCSpecies 2 CCGTATGAGGGGGTATATATCGGGCGCGGGATCTGCSpecies 3 CCGTATGACCGGGTATAAATCGCGCCCGGGATCTGCSpecies 4 CCGTATGAGGGGGTATATATCGGGCGCGGGATCTGC Tree DSpecies 1 GGGATATAGCGCACGATATCGTAGCCTAACGTTTTACGSpecies 2 GGGATATAGCGCACGATATCGTAAGCTAACGTTTTACGSpecies 3 AAAATATAGGCGTGGATATCGTAGCCTAACGTTGCATTSpecies 4 GGGATATACCGCACGTTATCGATCCCTAACGTTTTACG

When several possible phylogenetic trees can be produced from a data set, the most parsimonious tree: O is the one that shows the smallest number of synapomorphies. O is the one that shows the largest number of nodes. O is the one that shows the largest number of analogous characteristics. O is the one that shows the smallest number of evolutionary changes. O is the one that shows the smallest number of branches.

In the following cladogram species A, B, C, and the root of the tree together represent what sort of group?

Imagine you are studying two eukaryotic species. The genome of Species A is 100 Mb in size. The genome of Species B is 500 Mb in size. Based only on this information, which of the following statements are accurate? Species B is a more complex organism than Species A. None of the other statements can be made based solely on the information in the question. Species B has more genes than Species A. Species B has more chromosomes, more genes, and is more complex than Species A. Species B has more chromosomes than Species A.

Monophyletic groups are desirable in classification as they Select one: a.reflect evolutionary relationships b. minimise name changes from old to new classifications c. result in fewer groups and are therefore more parsimonious

The second step of classification is using homologous traits to determine the relationships between organisms. Based on the traits you identified in Exercise 3, it should now be possible to group some of the objects together. Objects that share a derived trait are related to one another, and they should be grouped together. Objects that share multiple shared derived traits are closely related, and they should be subgroups within larger related groups.Describe the groups in which you would place these objects, starting with groups with the largest number of objects and ending with the group with the smallest number of objects.

CHARACTERS                        1          2          3          4          5 SPECIES             A         0          0          1          0          0             B         1          0          1          0          1             C         1          0          1          1          0             D         1          1          1          0          1 Use the cladistic approach (using parsimony) to draw the tree that derives from the same data matrix above. Map both the species and the traits to your tree.