Meaning of cladistics | Babel Free

Definitions

An approach to biological systematics in which organisms are grouped based upon synapomorphies (shared derived characteristics) only, and not upon symplesiomorphies (shared ancestral characteristics); a method of classifying organisms based on their evolutionary relationships instead of superficial characteristics.

uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“Here we suggest⟳ emphasis on the techniques of cladistics (Eldredge and Cracraft 1980; Wiley 1981; Coddington 1988) because they provide⟳ a clear means of organizing phylogenetic information in branching diagrams.”

“The construction of branching patterns to map evolutionary change⟳ is called cladistics, and the devising of higher classifications (genus and up) to conform with the results of cladistics is called phylogenetic systematics.[…]Cladistics does allow⟳ us to judge⟳ which species are most likely to share⟳ a common ancestor, validating their placement in the same genus or family or higher taxon.”

“2001, Clare Bates Congdon, Gaphyl: A Genetic Algorithms Approach⟳ to Cladistics, Luc de Raedt, Arno Siebes (editors), Principles of Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery: 5th European Conference PKDD 2001, Volume 5, Springer, LNAI 2168, page 67, This research⟳ investigates the use⟳ of genetic algorithms to solve⟳ problems from cladistics — a technique used by biologists to hypothesize the relationships between organisms.”

CEFR level