Andrew Hamilton
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520276581
- eISBN:
- 9780520956759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520276581.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
It was not a foregone conclusion that systematics should be phylogenetic. Several commentators on both sides of the Atlantic pointed to logistical, epistemic, and ontological reasons why a ...
More
It was not a foregone conclusion that systematics should be phylogenetic. Several commentators on both sides of the Atlantic pointed to logistical, epistemic, and ontological reasons why a phylogenetic basis for classification was theoretically abhorrent or practically impossible. Willi Hennig, in facing these objections, offered a reading of clades as individuals in a way that solves several problems at once. As elegant as it is, this solution leads directly to difficulties with finding a theoretical basis for taxonomic ranking.Less
It was not a foregone conclusion that systematics should be phylogenetic. Several commentators on both sides of the Atlantic pointed to logistical, epistemic, and ontological reasons why a phylogenetic basis for classification was theoretically abhorrent or practically impossible. Willi Hennig, in facing these objections, offered a reading of clades as individuals in a way that solves several problems at once. As elegant as it is, this solution leads directly to difficulties with finding a theoretical basis for taxonomic ranking.
J. David Archibald
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231164122
- eISBN:
- 9780231537667
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231164122.003.0007
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter examines three revolutionary developments in the way trees were constructed and visualized during the twentieth century: the emergence in the 1960s of two new, quite different schools of ...
More
This chapter examines three revolutionary developments in the way trees were constructed and visualized during the twentieth century: the emergence in the 1960s of two new, quite different schools of biological systematics that challenged how one assesses relationships and how one represents these relationships visually, namely, “phylogenetic systematics” and “numerical taxonomy”; the invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure in 1983; advances in computing power in the latter half of the century. These three changes affected how we perceive evolution, how we show this on trees and other sorts of diagrams, and even how we ourselves, within this scheme, changed forever. The chapter also considers how molecular techniques revolutionized the reconstruction of life's history and the impact of molecular systematics on visual representations of trees. Finally, it discusses the increased understanding of phylogenetic trees and the emergence of a new freedom in how to express trees near the end of the twentieth century.Less
This chapter examines three revolutionary developments in the way trees were constructed and visualized during the twentieth century: the emergence in the 1960s of two new, quite different schools of biological systematics that challenged how one assesses relationships and how one represents these relationships visually, namely, “phylogenetic systematics” and “numerical taxonomy”; the invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure in 1983; advances in computing power in the latter half of the century. These three changes affected how we perceive evolution, how we show this on trees and other sorts of diagrams, and even how we ourselves, within this scheme, changed forever. The chapter also considers how molecular techniques revolutionized the reconstruction of life's history and the impact of molecular systematics on visual representations of trees. Finally, it discusses the increased understanding of phylogenetic trees and the emergence of a new freedom in how to express trees near the end of the twentieth century.
David M. Williams and Sandra Knapp (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520267725
- eISBN:
- 9780520947993
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520267725.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
Cladistics, or phylogenetic systematics — an approach to discovering, unraveling, and testing hypotheses of evolutionary history — took hold during a turbulent and acrimonious time in the history of ...
More
Cladistics, or phylogenetic systematics — an approach to discovering, unraveling, and testing hypotheses of evolutionary history — took hold during a turbulent and acrimonious time in the history of systematics. During this period — the 1960s and 1970s — much of the foundation of modern systematic methodology was established as cladistic approaches became widely accepted. Virtually complete by the end of the 1980s, the wide perception has been that little has changed. This volume vividly illustrates that cladistic methodologies have continued to be developed, improved upon, and effectively used in ever widening analytically imaginative ways.Less
Cladistics, or phylogenetic systematics — an approach to discovering, unraveling, and testing hypotheses of evolutionary history — took hold during a turbulent and acrimonious time in the history of systematics. During this period — the 1960s and 1970s — much of the foundation of modern systematic methodology was established as cladistic approaches became widely accepted. Virtually complete by the end of the 1980s, the wide perception has been that little has changed. This volume vividly illustrates that cladistic methodologies have continued to be developed, improved upon, and effectively used in ever widening analytically imaginative ways.
Manfred D. Laubichler
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520276581
- eISBN:
- 9780520956759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520276581.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Homology, a central concept in comparative biology, has been variously understood over the last century. This chapter tracks several versions of homology over time and through the lens of the ...
More
Homology, a central concept in comparative biology, has been variously understood over the last century. This chapter tracks several versions of homology over time and through the lens of the historical/mechanistic distinction one finds in Hans Spemann’s work in the early twentieth century. These various interpretations of homology are seen to converge again in the case of developmental evolution, where the differences between them, which have come from the rise of evolutionary biology in general and phylogenetic systematics in particular, again become both salient and informative.Less
Homology, a central concept in comparative biology, has been variously understood over the last century. This chapter tracks several versions of homology over time and through the lens of the historical/mechanistic distinction one finds in Hans Spemann’s work in the early twentieth century. These various interpretations of homology are seen to converge again in the case of developmental evolution, where the differences between them, which have come from the rise of evolutionary biology in general and phylogenetic systematics in particular, again become both salient and informative.
Michael Schmitt
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520276581
- eISBN:
- 9780520956759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520276581.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Willi Hennig, a shy and modest entomologist, is regarded to have caused a “revolution” in systematics. A condensed description of his life and career provide the background of an evaluation of his ...
More
Willi Hennig, a shy and modest entomologist, is regarded to have caused a “revolution” in systematics. A condensed description of his life and career provide the background of an evaluation of his contribution to the development of biological systematics. His main emphasis lay on a strict concept of “relationship,” as founded on genealogy, in contrast to similarity, and on a clear terminology and an explicit substantiation of hypotheses on phylogenetic relationships. He was not a revolutionary person but provided the foundation of modern cladistics, which fundamentally changed the methodology of systematics.Less
Willi Hennig, a shy and modest entomologist, is regarded to have caused a “revolution” in systematics. A condensed description of his life and career provide the background of an evaluation of his contribution to the development of biological systematics. His main emphasis lay on a strict concept of “relationship,” as founded on genealogy, in contrast to similarity, and on a clear terminology and an explicit substantiation of hypotheses on phylogenetic relationships. He was not a revolutionary person but provided the foundation of modern cladistics, which fundamentally changed the methodology of systematics.
Quentin Wheeler and Andrew Hamilton
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520276581
- eISBN:
- 9780520956759
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520276581.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
The New Systematics, the New Taxonomy, and the Future of Biodiversity Studies This chapter places the future practice of taxonomy in its historical and conceptual context, asking what kinds of ...
More
The New Systematics, the New Taxonomy, and the Future of Biodiversity Studies This chapter places the future practice of taxonomy in its historical and conceptual context, asking what kinds of technological investments make sense given taxonomy’s theoretical structure and the need for accelerating taxonomic studies. We defend the view that the theoretical and epistemological foundations of taxonomy point toward, rather than away from, the continued development of a new cyberinfrastructure that importantly includes morphology, even as molecular techniques become more common and more sophisticated. While we are excited and enthusiastic about developments in molecular systematics, we think comparative morphology should retain a central place in our collective attempt to understand life more fully. This is not just because of the pride of place morphology has in the history of natural history but because of what we understand the foundational ideas of contemporary taxonomy to require.Less
The New Systematics, the New Taxonomy, and the Future of Biodiversity Studies This chapter places the future practice of taxonomy in its historical and conceptual context, asking what kinds of technological investments make sense given taxonomy’s theoretical structure and the need for accelerating taxonomic studies. We defend the view that the theoretical and epistemological foundations of taxonomy point toward, rather than away from, the continued development of a new cyberinfrastructure that importantly includes morphology, even as molecular techniques become more common and more sophisticated. While we are excited and enthusiastic about developments in molecular systematics, we think comparative morphology should retain a central place in our collective attempt to understand life more fully. This is not just because of the pride of place morphology has in the history of natural history but because of what we understand the foundational ideas of contemporary taxonomy to require.
Lynne Parenti
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520259454
- eISBN:
- 9780520944398
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520259454.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
To unravel the complex shared history of the Earth and its life forms, biogeographers analyze patterns of biodiversity, species distribution, and geological history. So far, the field of biogeography ...
More
To unravel the complex shared history of the Earth and its life forms, biogeographers analyze patterns of biodiversity, species distribution, and geological history. So far, the field of biogeography has been fragmented into divergent systematic and evolutionary approaches, with no overarching or unifying research theme or method. In this text, the authors address this discord and outline comparative tools to unify biogeography. Rooted in phylogenetic systematics, this comparative biogeographic approach offers a comprehensive empirical framework for discovering and deciphering the patterns and processes of the distribution of life on Earth. The authors cover biogeography from its fundamental ideas to the most effective ways to implement them. Real-life examples illustrate concepts and problems, including the first comparative biogeographical analysis of the Indo-West Pacific, an introduction to biogeographical concepts rooted in the earth sciences, and the integration of phylogeny, evolution, and earth history.Less
To unravel the complex shared history of the Earth and its life forms, biogeographers analyze patterns of biodiversity, species distribution, and geological history. So far, the field of biogeography has been fragmented into divergent systematic and evolutionary approaches, with no overarching or unifying research theme or method. In this text, the authors address this discord and outline comparative tools to unify biogeography. Rooted in phylogenetic systematics, this comparative biogeographic approach offers a comprehensive empirical framework for discovering and deciphering the patterns and processes of the distribution of life on Earth. The authors cover biogeography from its fundamental ideas to the most effective ways to implement them. Real-life examples illustrate concepts and problems, including the first comparative biogeographical analysis of the Indo-West Pacific, an introduction to biogeographical concepts rooted in the earth sciences, and the integration of phylogeny, evolution, and earth history.
