Cladistics Part 1: Constructing Cladograms

Before we dive into learning about all the different kinds of animals, we have a little bit of work to do. How do we describe the relationships between animals? How does phylogeny work? We have to learn about cladistics, which means we have to learn how to build cladograms. What are those? Let's find out!

Script by Ryan Helcoski

Check out "Is This Wi-Fi Organic?", my book on disarming pseudoscience!

[arethysa]

just dropping by to say thank you for this series! i've been looking to study these topics independently as a hobby but i was always overwhelmed by the mountains of information i had to sift through. being guided through the basics has been the most helpful thing! many cheers, professor!

[liser]

I´m studying biology and it´s a good way to explain cladograms and phylogenetics :)
Also it´s so important to diferenciate between homologous characters and analogous characters, since analogous characters can lead to false phylogenetic hypotheses

[AestheticallyViolet]

Thank you so much! We have an evolution test tomorrow, and I am feeling confident now thanks to you!

[naveenchand]

Please upload more videos on Organic synthesis challenges and mechanism challenges. They really are helping alot.

[iscribbleovermywork]

I have found my calling, ZOOLOGY IS AWESOME I LOVE LIFE

I'm 14 and just found a new passion, I want to become a zoologist or anything that involves zoology.

Prof dave, you are a great teacher and I love the way you explain things. Well, it's in your channel name, after all.

Andddd now I fear growing up and having to make decisions. Eugh. Eh. Hm. nvm i'm alright now back to being.

[glennpearson]

Great presentation on cladograms, Professor Dave. Love this stuff!

[absw]

I have learned more from this guy than I ever did in school.

[nicholasbailey]

Starting around 8:30 you mention that traits like flight or warm-bloodedness would be bad traits to choose for cladistic grouping as they are both examples of convergent evolution, not homology. While that's demonstrably true of those traits I feel like the way it's phrased almost implies we should choose traits that we know will give us an answer we pre-determined. It seems to me that really what you'd want to do is have as many traits as possible so that you can separate out homologous and analogous characters.

[l_wnm]

Wow! Haven’t found good explanations in my native language an decided to switch over to English - so will explained, thank you!

[marccolten]

Clades are relatively new to me so I welcome this video. Still I am confused. Clades do not seem to be diagnostic but illustrative of decisions you have already made. You can reject similarities because you already know to reject them, like flight. I remember a statement from another YouTuber’s video that an animal is “... carnivorous, but not a carnivore”. Or that a certain creature belongs in a certain group despite not having a defined characteristic. I’m not sure I see what good they are if you can include or exclude a creature at will. But I’ll keep watching. Thanks.

[rickschofield]

Excellent video exemplifying the absurdity of the term more evolved

[Sven-Wagner]

Nice and very good explained, especially for non-scientists like me 😎👍

[AkselWaage]

Really glad you're covering cladistics!

[amyjojones]

Teaching a gizmo to 8th grade- this was perfect, thank you

[nighthamato]

Thank you so much for this video. This made me understant instantly!!

[complicated_smurf]

im joining the professor dave cult i love these videos so much!!!! LOVE U DAVE

[brittanyjacobson]

Thank you, this is a topic that I love. Your explanation is very good.

[StudyHoursV]

Watched: claditics common characteristics, outgroup furthest out, a point is a certain part in its history. synamporhy, s a characteristic or trait that is shared by two or more taxa (groups of organisms) and is inherited from their most recent common ancestor. Convergent evolution when animals develop similar traits.

[Snwar]

i bet this will spiral out of control and end up with a 1 hour crocoduck debunking because creationists reacted to this video like flatearthers to the other one.

[rickschofield]

I would love to see a video how to incorporate convergent evolution in this type of system how would you incorporate a divergence and a convergence into this system as it would not account for all previous divergences being present on 2 converged characteristics. Would they have to be kept separate but the same?