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From: felsenst@entropy.ms.washington.edu (Joe Felsenstein)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Relationship between large primates ?
Message-ID: <660@entropy.ms.washington.edu>
Date: Tue, 27-Oct-87 01:24:15 EST
Article-I.D.: entropy.660
Posted: Tue Oct 27 01:24:15 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 30-Oct-87 06:54:35 EST
References: <8826@utzoo.UUCP>
Reply-To: uw-evolution!joe@uw-entropy.UUCP (Joe Felsenstein)
Organization: Univ of Washington Dept of Genetics, Seattle
Lines: 37

In article <8826@utzoo.UUCP> mcardle@utzoo.UUCP (Mike McArdle) writes:
>
>What is the basis for the "evolutionary trees" utilizing information
>from the genetic material of large primates (i.e. man, gorilla, etc.)?
>Are these classifications and their associated divergence times based
>on phenetic or phylogenetic analyses? Do both methods provide similar
>classifications?
>-- 
>Name:   Mike "CLADIST" McArdle

(1) "Evolutionary trees" are not classifications, they are phylogenies.
    The question of how they are (or are not) to influence the
    classification system is a separate one.
(2) The estimation of phylogenies is, by definition, phylogenetic.
(3) Terms like "cladistic" and "phenetic" are properly applied to
    systems of constructing classifications.  It only confuses
    matters to call certain methods of estimating phylogenies
    "cladistic" and others "phenetic".
(4) Molecular methods using DNA give similar answers irrespective
    of whether they are based on DNA hybridization or DNA sequences.
    (the former are often miscalled "phenetic", the latter miscalled 
    "cladistic" evidence.  This is not to say they give a clear 
    resolution of the human-chimp-gorilla trichotomy -- there is still 
    conflicting evidence with perhaps a trend towards human-chimp.
(5) All of the above propositions, which I will happily defend,
    are vehemently disbelieved by most people calling themselves cladists.

-----
Joe Felsenstein, Dept. of Genetics SK-50, Univ. of Washington, Seattle WA 98195
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