Bio lab phylogeny lab

8 basic taxonomic designations

Domain, kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

explain the hierarchical nature of classification systems

Domain: highest and broadest level, dividing all life into three types based on cell type. Kingdom is within each domain and is either animal/plant/fungi. Phylum: more specific grouping within a kingdom. Class: a rank below phylum. Order: a more specific group of similar families. Family: contains several related genera. Genus: A group of closely related species. Species: most specific level, represent a single type of organism

Basic parts of a phylogenetic tree - Root

earliest common ancestor

Basic parts of a phylogenetic tree - branches

lines representing lineage and evolutionary history

Basic parts of a phylogenetic tree - nodes

branch points where lineage diverge into new groups (common ancestor)

Basic parts of a phylogenetic tree - tips/leaves

endpoints of the branches representing species, genes

Basic parts of a phylogenetic tree - clade

A group of organisms that includes a common ancestor and all its descendants

Basic parts of a phylogenetic tree - outgroup

A taxon included in the tree that is known to be less related to the other taxa - help provide context for the evolutionary relationships within the tree

ancestral v derived characters possessed by a taxa on a phylogenetic tree

ancestral: trait inherited from a more distant common ancestor

derived: newer, evolutionary unique trait in a more recent common ancestor

Parsimony

best hypothesized phylogenetic tree - most simplest one

explain the connection between the classification of living species (taxonomy) and their evolutionary relationships (phylogeny)

taxonomy is the process of classifying and naming living organisms, while phylogeny is the study of their evolutionary relationships

homologous traits

have similar origin and structure but different functions, same common ancestor

analogous traits

have different origin and structure but perform the same function