7.1: Overview and Purpose
Overview and Purpose
Examine the principles of taxonomy and phylogenetics and use those principles to observe and describe the characteristics of different organisms. Use specimens, taxonomic keys, and guides to identify organisms, and work in teams to compare their observations and conclusions. This lab emphasizes the development of skills in observation, classification, and scientific reasoning. This lab explores the diversity of life and the importance of taxonomy and phylogeny in understanding the natural world.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the processes scientists use to determine the relatedness of different species.
- Gain an understanding of dichotomous keys and cladograms.
- Understand the differences between taxonomy and cladistics.
- Use and make a dichotomous key.
- Use and label a cladogram to understand organismal relationships, ancestral traits, and shared derived traits.
- Make a scientifically accurate cladogram using a fictional example.
Vocabulary
Taxonomy
Linnaean System
Dichotomous Key
Cladogram
Phylogeny
Phylogenetic Tree
Ancestral trait
Shared derived traits
Clade
Materials needed
- A selection of preserved animals from a school collection or from student-made collections
- Printouts of ‘Caminacules’ from: Sokal, R. R. (June 1983). "A phylogenetic analysis of the Caminalcules. I. The data base". Systematic Zoology . 32 (2): 159–184. doi:10.2307/2413279. JSTOR 2413279