Chp 26 Taxonomy and Systematics

These flashcards cover key concepts from the lecture on taxonomy and systematics, focusing on definitions, processes, and classification systems.

What is taxonomy?

The science of describing, naming, and classifying living organisms.

Define systematics.

The study of biological diversity and the evolutionary relationships among organisms.

What are phylogenetic trees?

Diagrams that represent the evolutionary relationships among species based on morphological or genetic data.

What is monophyletic group?

A group that contains a common ancestor and all of its descendants.

What characterizes a paraphyletic group?

Contains a common ancestor but not all descendants.

What is a polyphyletic group?

Contains groups of species with different common ancestors.

What does the principle of parsimony refer to in systematics?

The preferred tree is the one that is the simplest with the fewest changes/steps.

What is binomial nomenclature?

A system for naming species with two parts: the genus name (capitalized) and the species epithet (lowercase).

What is cladogenesis?

A process by which a species diverges into two or more species.

What is anagenesis?

A process where a single species evolves into a different species.

What are shared derived characters?

Traits found in all species above a specific branch point on a phylogenetic tree.

What are homologous traits?

Similarities among species due to inheritance from a common ancestor.

What is a sister group?

A monophyletic lineage that is most closely related to the lineage being discussed.

What problems can convergent evolution cause in phylogenetic trees?

It can create traits that appear similar for reasons other than inheritance from a common ancestor.

How are molecular clocks utilized in systematics?

They estimate the time since divergence between species by measuring nucleotide differences.