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Herendeen, Patrick S. [3], Soltis, Pamela S. [1], Soltis, Douglas E. [2].

Is Morphology Dead in Phylogenetic Analyses?.

Nearly all recently published phylogenetic analyses rely exclusively o­n DNA sequence data, perhaps due largely to the ease of data acquisition and analysis, but also to perceived problems with quality and quantity of morphological data. Some have argued that it is not worth the effort to obtain morphological data for inferring phylogeny because the number of characters, as well as the quality of characters typically are low. Instead it has been suggested that efforts should focus o­n more rigorous and critical studies of fewer morphological characters in the context of molecular phylogenies. We will examine this issue with the help of a panel of experts, addressing the fundamental questions, “Is morphology essentially dead from the standpoint of phylogenetic reconstruction? Is it worthwhile for investigators to pursue studies of morphology in the hope of garnering important new characters, or is morphology better suited primarily for studies of character evolution? Can new morphological characters be discovered or have previous generations of morphologists tapped all of the potential of morphology? Are there any areas where morphology has a critical role to play?For example, integrating fossils into phylogenetic trees of living taxa is imperative for understanding both the origins of extant groups and the evolution of their characters, but such analyses must rely o­n morphological characters. This discussion session will address these and related issues.

Discussion panel members will include Richard G. Olmstead, Robert W. Scotland, James A. Doyle, Walter S. Judd, and Christopher J. Humphries


1 - University of Florida, Department of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 117800, Gainesville, Florida, 32611-7800, USA
2 - University of Florida, Department of Botany, 220 Bartram Hall, P.O. Box 118526, Gainesville, Florida, 32611-8526, USA
3 - George Washington University, Biological Sciences, 2023 G St.NW, Washington, DC, 20052, USA

Keywords:
none specified

Presentation Type: Discussion
Session: D5-1
Location: Cottonwood B (Snowbird Center)
Date: Wednesday, August 4th, 2004
Time: 10:45 AM
Abstract ID:1039


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