systematics & phylogenetics
this field studies the classification and evolutionary relationships of organisms, while this term refers to the visual representation of those relationships
what are systematics and phylogenies
this method involved manually organizing traits to build a cladogram
what is manual cladistics
this diagram shows evolutionary relationships based on shared traits and it used to hypothesize ancestry
what is a cladogram
this principle favors the simplest explanation with the fewest evolutionary changes
what is the principle of parsimony?
these traits help distinguish evolutionary relationships: one is inherited from a common ancestor the other is newly evolved
what are ancestral and derived traits?
this reference group helps determine which traits are ancestral when building a cladogram
what is an outgroup
these traits are used to determine evolutionary polarity when constructing a cladogram
what are significant phenotypic traits / morphological or molecular characters.
these two approaches are used to contruct cladograms one uses statistical models the other estimates divergence time.
what are statistical approach and molecular clock
what are root node polytomy branch point basal taxa and sister taxa
this term describes a trait that evolved for one funciton but later served a new purpose
what is a preadaptation.