PALAWAN STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Sciences

Bio 103/L
SYSTEMATICS

The Three
Schools of
Systematics

➢ Phenetics
Module 4 ➢ Cladistics
➢ Evolutionary Classification
 Table of Contents

Title Page …………………………………………………………………. 1

Table of Contents …………………….………………………………... 2
Learning Outcomes …….………………………………………………3
Module Overview ……………………………………………………… 4
Initial Activity ………………………………………………………………5
Discussion ………..………………………………………………….….. 6
Taxonomic Schools …….……………………………....... 6
Phenetics …….…………………………………………....... 10
Example of Phenetics …………………………………....... 12
Cladistics ……….………….………………………………… 17
Example of Cladogram ………………………………….......18
Evolutionary Classification ………………………..………… 15
Example of Phylogram …………………………………....... 22
2

Learning Check 1 …………..…………………………………….…….. 14

Learning Check 2 …………..…………………………………….…….. 19
Learning Check 2 …………..…………………………………….…….. 23
Evaluation ……………………………………….………………………… 24
Rubrics ………………………………………..……………………………25
References ………………….……………………………………………. 26
.

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 Learning Objectives

After going through in this module, you should be able to:

✓ Construct phenograms, cladograms, and phylograms in

describing relationships among organisms.

Page 3
 Overview

Chapter 4- Three Schools of Systematics

The three schools of systematics known as phenetics, cladistics, and

phylogenetics are discussed in this chapter. Take notice of which of
these three schools is more commonly employed by scientists and
researchers. Consider which figure in the classification of organisms is
more reliable and easier to use.

However, you will be able to build the tree using the various types of
diagrams employed in these three schools. It will be challenging, so
prepare yourself and pay attention to your teacher when he or she
introduces you to this topic.

After you've mastered those three diagrams, don't be afraid to ask

questions or clarify anything that isn't clear to you because you'll be
applying what you've learned in your own specimens from module 3.

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 Initial Activity
Visual Analysis

What do you think the illustration conveys based on the illustration? Fill in the details
with your response in the box below.

A Nuts and Bolts

Source: https://www2.nau.edu/lrm22/lessons/nuts_and_bolts/nuts_and_bolts.html

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 Discussion
TAXONOMIC SCHOOLS

The phenetic and phylogenetic principles are the two fundamental types of
biological classification, but there are more than two schools of thought about how
classification should be carried out. We can discuss three main schools.

Cladism Phenetics. Evolutionary classification:

is the common term used for This is the most influential a synthesis of phenetic and
classification based on the modern school of phenetic phylogenetic methods.
phylogenetic principle, classification. The terms
although the term phenetics, numerical
phylogenetic systematics is phenetics and numerical
sometimes used. taxonomy are used
interchangeably.

ignores phenetic relations and ignores evolutionary relations includes both phenetic and
classifies species by their and classifies species by their phylogenetic relationships.
recency of common ancestry similarity in appearance

is unambiguous because is ambiguous (unclear) avoids some of the

there is only one phylogenetic because there is more than extraordinary properties of
tree of all living things. one way of measuring cladism. But it suffers from the
phenetic similarity and the ambiguity of phenetic
different measures can taxonomy, and its argument
disagree. for excluding one kind of
phenetic relation
(convergence) works equally
well against the kind of
phenetic relation (differential 6
divergence) that it includes.

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 Discussion

There are different ways to construct classification diagrams but the three illustrations
below are the most common types.

Figure 1: Diagrams illustrated in three ways: Phenogram, cladogram, and phylogenetic tree
Source: http://biosiva.50webs.org/phylonotes.htm
7

Most people draw systematic diagrams in one of these three ways, but there are other
options depending on the classification of species. These three can be used
interchangeably, for example, the cladogram style can be used to create phenogram.
The basis for determining the diagram will be the key elements, which are similarities
or shared qualities.

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 Discussion
Taxonomic terms

A monophyletic group is a group which contains all the descendants of a common

ancestor: the group has a common ancestor unique to itself. It is the only group
recognized by cladist classification. Monophyletic groups contain all the branches
below a given ancestor; nothing is said about the phenetic evolution of species within
each branch.

A paraphyletic group contains some, but not all, of the descendants from a common
ancestor. The members included are those that have changed little from the ancestral
state; those that have changed more are excluded: a paraphyletic group contains the
rump of conservative descendants from an ancestral species.

Polyphyletic groups are formed when two lineages convergently evolve similar
character states. Organisms classified into the same polyphyletic group share
phenetic homoplasies as opposed to homologies.
Figure 2: A cladogram of the
primates, showing a monophyletic
taxon: the simians (in yellow); a
paraphyletic taxon: the prosimians
(in cyan, including the red patch);
and a polyphyletic group: the
night-active primates, i.e., the
lorises and the tarsiers (in red).

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono
phyly

In evolutionary biology,
convergent evolution is
defined
as the process whereby
distantly related organisms
independently evolve similar
traits to adapt to similar
Biologists distinguish three different types of character. necessities.

• A shared derived character is common to the ancestral species and a single

group: it is the only reliable guide to inferring phylogeny.
• An ancestral character is shared with the species ancestral to more than one
group: it can lead to different groups being classified together.
• A homoplasy is a character that a species shares through convergent evolution: it
is no indicator of a phylogenetic relation. Homoplasy is a character shared by a
Page 8
set of species but not present in their common ancestor.
 Discussion

There are different ways to construct classification diagrams but the three illustrations
below are the most common types.

Cladogram Phenogram Phylogram/Phylogenetic Tree

Displays branching information Is generated from phenetic Has additional information: the
to explain the evolutionary analysis. It does not necessary length of branches according to
relationships. explain the ancestor-descendant the amount of changes
relationships of the taxa in the (evolutionary process)
investigation.
Focus on shared characteristics Focus on similarities in Focus on the similarities of
characteristics characteristics, evolutionary
time and genetic distance
between the groups of
organisms.
Based on morphological Based on morphological Based on morphological
characters of the organisms and characters of the organisms characters and genetic
evolutionary history relationships of organisms
Example: Example: Example:

9
Crocodiles are closely The lizard and the crocodile are
connected to birds, according to closely related (they're both
evolutionary history, because reptiles), whereas the bird is the Crocodiles and lizards are
birds sprang from dinosaurs, and outgroup. closely connected due to their
dinosaurs descended from similar features, however birds
crocodiles. are derived and closely related
to crocodiles due to evolutionary
history and the fact that birds
have scales in their feet as well.
As you can see, the lineage from
the crocodile to the bird is far
apart. This is due to the fact that,
based on their genetics and
evolutionary history, birds evolve
over a long period of time.
Page 9
 Discussion
1.) Phenetics

Numerical phenetics attempts to measure similarity using observable attributes of

organisms. The school emphasizes quantitative techniques of measurement.

The simplest kind of numerical phenetic classification is defined by only one or two
characters. The trouble with this procedure is that different individual characters show
different distributions among species and therefore tend to produce different
classifications. For example, crocodiles are more similar to reptiles like lizards and
turtles than to birds if we look at their external surfaces and physiology (opposite); but
crocodiles and birds have anatomically more similar skulls than either have with
lizards and turtles.

Classifying with a small number of phenetic characters, there is no way to decide

which of the many classifications is the best. Numerical pheneticists therefore
recommend measuring as many characters as possible - even hundreds - and
classifying according to the aggregate similarity for all of them. The more characters
that are measured, the more likely it is that peculiar individual characters will be
averaged out, and the better founded and more natural the classification will be.

Figure 3: Turtles Share a

Recent Common Ancestor with
Birds and Crocodiles
Source:
https://scitechdaily.com/turtles-
share-a-recent-common-
ancestor-with-birds-and-
crocodiles/
10

Figure 4: (a) Turtle skull; (b) (a)

Lizard and Bird skull
Source:
https://www.quantamagazine.org
/how-birds-evolved-from-
dinosaurs-20150602/
(b)
Page 10
 Discussion
One of the examples that phenetics could not be reliable to use in classifying organisms.

Figure: Analogous Structures

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/about-analogous-structures-1224491

Phenetics is subjective 11

There is a lack of objectivity in the phenetic system. The phenetic classification represents the
morphological similarity for large numbers of characters. Any consistency in a classification of
this sort does not follow from the phenetic system itself; there is no hierarchy of morphological
similarity which exists in nature. A phenetic classification is imposed subjectively by the
taxonomist.

This is shown by the diagram. There are five species with two characters. To form figure (b)
we group each species with its phenetically nearest neighbor. Two clusters of species 1 and
2, and 4 and 5 are created. But to which of these clusters should we join species 3? The
nearest species is 2 and so we put it with cluster A. However, if we calculate average distance
of each cluster as a whole, the answer is the opposite - cluster B has the nearest average
neighbor to species 3 and we form figure (c).

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 Phenogram Example

CONSTRUCTION OF A PHENOGRAM

This is an example of how you construct a phenogram.

Character Angelfish Red-tailed Black Discus Guppy Goldfish Tiger

Shark Bard 12

Plain colored 0 1 0 0 1 0

Striped colored 1 0 0 0 0 1

Large dorsal fin 1 1 1 1 1 0

Long trailing 1 0 1 1 0 0
pelvic fin
Fusiform/normal 0 1 0 0 1 1
body shape
Forked caudal fin 0 1 0 0 1 1

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 Phenogram Example

CONSTRUCTION OF A PHENOGRAM

The higher the number, the more similar traits they have.

PHENETIC COMPARISON
(total of all shared states)
Angelfish Red-tailed Black Discus Guppy Goldfish Tiger
Shark Bard
Angelfish --- 1 5 5 1 2

Red-tailed Black --- 2 2 6 1

Shark
Discus ---- 6 2 1

Guppy ---- 2 1

Goldfish ---- 3

Tiger Bard ----

Red-tailed Black
Goldfish Discus Guppy Angelfish Tiger Bard
Shark

13

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 Learning Check 1
CONSTRUCTION OF A PHENOGRAM

If the characteristics are present on the specific birds, mark 1; otherwise, mark 0..

Figure 5: Turtles Share a Recent Common Ancestor with Birds and Crocodiles
Source: https://www.canstockphoto.com/set-of-various-birds-types-with-81321453.html

Character Goldfinch Oriole Tit Sparrow Bull Wood Nightingale Green Red
finch pecker finch Cardinal 14

Cracker
beak

With one
or two
colored
feathers

More than
2 colored
feathers

With head
crest

Medium to
long tailed

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 Learning Check 1
CONSTRUCTION OF A PHENOGRAM

Fill in the table below for the total similar traits of the birds on page 15. Then create a phenogram
based on the birds' overall comparable traits. The higher the number, the more similar and
related they are. Use the box below to enter your details.
Goldfinch Oriole Tit Sparrow Bull Wood Nightingale Green Red
finch pecker finch Cardinal

Goldfinch

Oriole

Tit

Sparrow

Bullfinch

Wood
pecker

Nightingale

Greenfinch

Red
Cardinal

Page 15
 Discussion
TAXONOMIC SCHOOLS

2.) Cladism

Cladism is one of the three main taxonomic schools and is rigorously based upon the
phylogenetic principle as a means of biological classification. This means that the
cladist’s method is evolutionary: species are grouped according to how recently they
share a common ancestor.

When a species splits during evolution it will usually form two descendant species,
called sister species, and in a cladistic classification sister species are grouped
together.

Cladists therefore ignore phenetic similarities in organisms and attempt to uncover

phylogenetic relationships by means of shared derived characters. As a result, they
only recognize monophyletic groups: paraphyletic and polyphyletic groups are
excluded.

We need to know what these technical terms mean.

16

Figure 6: There is a simple relationship between the phylogenetic (cladistic) classification of a

group of species and their phylogenetic tree. (a) The phylogenetic tree of seven species. (b)
Their cladistic classification. (c) The formal Linnaean classification, for species five as an
example.
Source: https://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ridley/tutorials/Classification_and_evolution10.asp

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 Discussion
TAXONOMIC SCHOOLS

2.) Cladism

Cladistic classifications are monophyletic. Cladistic classifications only include

monophyletic groups because only they have the unambiguous hierarchical
arrangement of the phylogenetic tree. This is the theoretical beauty of cladism. Only
monophyletic groups are formed in the cladistic conversion of a phylogenetic tree into
a classification and nothing has to be known about the phenetic evolution of species
within each branch. The figure opposite illustrates the simple relationship between
cladistic classification and their phylogenetic tree.

The result of this is that cladistic classifications can be radical and counter-intuitive: for
instance the category "fish" does not exist in cladism. Tetrapods evolved from lobe-
finned fish (such as lungfish) and this means that the cow and the lungfish are
grouped together because they share a more recent common ancestor than the
lungfish and the salmon.

Cladism has other controversial features:

1. A group can change its name if it splits and one of the new lineages has hardly
changed phenetically from its ancestor.

2. When a new group originates by hybridization between two species then the shape
of the phylogeny does not imply a hierarchical classification.

17

Figure 7: This ladder-like phylogenetic tree of vertebrates is rooted by an organism that lacked a
vertebral column. At each branch point, organisms with different characters are placed in
different groups based on the characteristics they share.
Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-wmopen-biology1/chapter/phylogenetic-trees/

Page 17
 Example of Cladogram
CONSTRUCTION OF A CLADOGRAM

To make a cladogram, you must first look at the animals you are studying and establish
characteristics that they share and ones that are unique to each group. For the animals
on the table, indicate whether the characteristic is present or not. Based on that chart,
create a cladogram like the one pictured above.

X
X X
X X X
X X X X
X X X X X

Slug Catfish Frog Tiger

Human

Opposable Thumbs
18

Hair

Legs

Backbone
Cells

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 Learning Check 2
CONSTRUCTION OF A CLADOGRAM

Fill out the following character matrix. Mark an “X” if an organism has the trait.

In the box below, create a cladogram based off your matrix.

19

Page 19
 Discussion
3.) Evolutionary classification

Evolutionary classification is a synthesis of the phenetic and phylogenetic principles.

The school therefore describes itself as synthetic, drawing on the advantages, and
avoiding the shortcomings, of the two purer schools of cladism and numerical
phenetics. However, for the same reason it has been criticized for doing the opposite -
for retaining the philosophical shortcomings of phenetic classification and adding to
them the practical uncertainties of phylogenetic inference.

Evolutionary classification permits paraphyletic groups (which are allowed in phenetic

but not in cladistic classification) and monophyletic groups (which are allowed in both
cladistic and phenetic classification). Since it defines groups by homologies and
ignores homoplasies it excludes polyphyletic groups (which are banned from cladistic
classification but permitted in phenetic classification).

Figure 8: The school of

evolutionary classification was
developed by the biologist Ernst
Mayr .

Source:
https://www.researchgate.net/figu
20
re/Ernst-Mayr-1904-2005-
Photograph-reproduced-with-
permission-from-the-Archives-of-
the_fig2_24205553

Page 20
 Discussion

Evolutionary taxonomy: the middle way

Evolutionary taxonomists criticized phenetic systems for being idealistic; for supposing
that a phenetic classification represents some 'ideal' phenetic relationship between
species. Phenetic classifications try to group species according to a relationship - the
ideal morphological system - that evolution does not produce. Evolution does not
produce one particular privileged phenetic hierarchy, which is more real than all other
phenetic hierarchies.

Evolutionary taxonomists criticize cladism for its unnecessary puritanism. Cladism

leads to bizarre conclusions, such as the destruction of the Reptilia and the renaming
of apparently unchanged species. It does so because of its distinction between
paraphyletic and monophyletic groups. If both kinds of group are allowed in
classification, the cladistic novelties do not arise.

Evolutionary classification has its own problems:

• Evolutionary taxonomists classify by homologies but do not distinguish between

ancestral and shared derived homologies. Shared derived homologies cannot (if
correctly identified) contradict one another; but different ancestral homologies can end
up distributed in contradictory groupings.

An evolutionary classification will therefore only be objective insofar as shared derived

homologies were used to construct it. If it contains shared ancestral homologies the
classification will be less objective: an evolutionary classification is only objective
insofar as it is cladistic.
21
• Classifications that mix more than one type of information are less informative than
classifications that represent only a single property. The problem with evolutionary
classification is that it is constructed with both phenetic and phylogenetic information:
if you are given the classification, you do not know which groups are phenetic and
which phylogenetic.

Classification by a pure system does not have this problem.

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 Example of Phylogram

Phylogram is more likely a tree and show branch order and branch lengths.

Human

Tiger

Frog

Catfish

Slug Opposable Thumbs

Hair
Legs
Backbone

Cells

But phylograms can also be illustrated like phenogram style but it will show the length
of nodes which indicates the time of the evolutionary history of specific organisms.
Observe the example below.

Figure 9: Phylogram
Source: https://slideplayer.com/slide/4656661/ Page 22
 Learning Check 3
DIFFIRENTIATE

Observe carefully the two diagrams, compare and contrast each. Write your
answers on the space provided below.

Source: https://ib.bioninja.com.au/options/untitled/b5-bioinformatics/phylogenetics.html

23

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 Evaluation
PERFORMANCE TASK (Laboratory)

Create phenograms, cladograms, and phylograms using the plants from Chapter 3.
Fill in the details below. This activity can alternatively be done in a separate
document. On your learning check, follow the format for constructing those
methodical diagrams.

24

Page 24
 Rubrics
RUBRICS FOR CONSTRUCTING PHENOGRAMS, CLADOGRAM, AND PHYLOGRAM
Criterion 5 4 3 2 1 Points
Constructed
accordingly
Constructed to its Constructed
Organize Not
accordingly to appropriate accordingly to
but organize
Construction its appropriate school and its appropriate
incorrect for and
of diagram school. organize school but not
its school. incorrect for
Organize and but lack organize.
its school.
complete. some
elements.

Lack some
Contains
Lack two elements
correct root, Lack one
Parts of the Complete but elements of and not
nodes, element of
diagram not organize. the aligned
clades, and the diagram.
diagram. compone
branches.
nts
Shows at least Shows about Shows about Shows
Shows 90% 75% of 50% of 25 % about 10%
Evolutionary accurate of the accurate of accurate of
accurate of the accurate of the the the
history evolutionary evolutionary evolutionary
history. history. history. evolutionary evolutionary
history. history.

All relevant Almost all of Many of the

No No
figures, the figures, figures and
captions or captions 25
Captions pictures, and pictures, and pictures are
labels are or labels
and labels tables are tables are la-
found or are found
captioned or captioned or beled/caption
lacking. or lacking.
labeled. labeled. ed.

Have
Have correct
Have correct Have correct correct Almost no
Shared and shared or
shared or shared or shared or similar or
similar 90 % similar or
75 % similar or 50 % similar or 25 % similar shared
characteristi shared
shared shared or shared characteristi
cs characteristics.
characteristics characteristics characteristic cs.
s
TOTAL
Page 25
Instructor’s Comments:
 References

Phylogenetic Trees. (n.d.). Department of Entomology NC State University.

https://projects.ncsu.edu/cals/course/ent425/text02/phylotrees.html

Eddleman, S. (2021). Life Science (cpo science). CPO science life science.
Wheeler, W. C. (1873). Systematics: A Course of Lectures by Ward C. Wheeler (2012–05-
29). Wiley-Blackwell.

Morrison, D. A. (2012). Phylogenetics: The Theory and Practice of Phylogenetic Systematics,

2nd edition. —E. O. Wiley and Bruce S. Lieberman. Systematic Biology, 61(6), 1087–1088.
https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/sys065

Hickman, C., Keen, S., Larson, A., Eisenhour, D., I’Anson, H., & Roberts, L. (2013).
Integrated Principles of Zoology (16th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

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