Cladistics
Peter L. Forey(Author)
Clarendon Press
Published on 1. October 1993
Book
Paperback/Softback
202 pages
978-0-19-857766-9 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
Systematics underpins all of biology. Cladistics is a method of systematic classification that has become applied to comparative studies in all fields of biology. In cladistics, the genealogies that are reconstructed are based on common ancestry rather than on overall similarity. True phylogenetic relationships are thus revealed. To meet the need for training, the Systematics Association has sponsored a short course on cladistics. The interest sparked by this course was such that the course material has been gathered together in this book, now available in paperback. To introduce the subject, the principle of parsimony and methods for character coding and determining character polarity are first presented. Methods of cladistic tree-building follow, and tree statistics are detailed. Alternatives to parsimony, molecular applications of cladistics, and the relevance of fossils are then discussed. The concluding chapters review two important topics in cladistics: cladistic biogeography and the implementation of cladistics results in systematics. This book provides an up-to-date account of the techniques of modern cladistics, written in a clear, readable style.
As such, it should be an invaluable text for all students interest in systematics and comparative studies.
As such, it should be an invaluable text for all students interest in systematics and comparative studies.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Oxford University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
tab., num. fig.
numerous line figures, tables
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-19-857766-9 (9780198577669)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Ian J. Kitching | Peter L. Forey | Christopher Humphries
Cladistics
the Theory and Practice of Parsimony Analysis
Book
07/1998
2nd Edition
Oxford University Press
€55.71
Article not available
Persons
Author
Contributions
Content
1. Cladistic theory; 2. Character coding; 3. The determination of character polarity; 4. Tree-building techniques; 5. Tree statistics; 6. DNA analysis: theory; 7. DNA analysis: methods; 8. Fossils and cladistic analysis; 9. Cladistic biogeography; 10. Formal classification